Category Archives: Faith

Hard Events Help us Grow in God

Hard events of life help us grow in God. Faith is tested by the events of life. Everything is under the hand of God, both the easy and the hard.

Hard events help us grow in God

Hard events help us grow in God

Almost every person mentioned in the Bible had difficult times. God used every event to bring this person more in the faith and belief of God. God became more real through every situation. At one point the Bible seems just a good book about God, but events in life will make the Bible become part of our life and living.

Insecurities help us grow in Faith

Insecurities help us grow in Faith

Even material insecurities help us grow in Faith.

Consider Elijah in the Old Testament who went through various situations to prove to him that God is real and present, and that God actually cares for what is going on in life. At one point a brook that Elijah was near dried up.  What was he to do. Well, God provided for him. He just needed to keep his eyes on God.  The dried up brook helped Elijah to trust in God for His provision.  God eventually provided, but not in the way Elijah expected.

The providence of God in our lives is sometimes the best education we can get in the ways of God. Even Peter in the New Testament got distracted with something he thought would be great, but God needed to teach him a lesson in looking at Jesus and not being distracted. Consider the points in this video about “Listen to Jesus”.

Peter was the top, number one disciple of Jesus, but he had a lot to learn. It seems he was always being corrected by Jesus. Hard things and hard words helped him grow in faith.

It’s so easy to get distracted with great religious things. Jesus is the main subject and focus of the New Testament. Even the chosen disciples like Peter could get distracted with doing something “great” for God and miss the Son of God, Jesus, who was standing right there.

So watch this short video on “Listen to Jesus”

In Matthew 17,  Jesus takes His top three disciples up to a mountain, and there Jesus was transfigured or glorified. He probably looked like He might appear in heaven. His top three disciples were Peter, James and John. Peter had a great idea, but God did not agree with the idea and so God spoke from the heavens. God said “This is my beloved Son, Hear Him“. Too many times we have a “great idea” for God. But many times God does not agree and may speak to us and tell us to just “Listen to Jesus”. So how do we “listen to Jesus”, the easiest and best way is to just read the Bible.

God Never Gives Up on Us

God Never Gives Up on Us. Don’t worry, we may fail, but God finds a way to restore us. God never forgets the purpose He created us for. We were make for a purpose and God knows that. So don’t worry about failure, God will make a way.

So watch this short devotional video on “God Never Gives Up on Us “

God make a way through His son Jesus Christ to take care of the sin issue between us and God. Sin and failure cannot stop God’s purpose with us.  We may give up, but God does not give up on us.

Consider some failures in the Bible:  Adam, Abraham, Peter, (and us).  We all are sinners, so God has made a way through His son Jesus Christ to bring us back to God and back to His purpose.

We may give up, but God does not give up on us.  

Priest Lake, Idaho

Priest Lake, Idaho

Consider Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ

Isa 42:3  A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench:
he shall bring forth judgment unto truth

God Never Gives Up on Us

God Never Gives Up on Us

Isa 54:10  For the mountains shall depart,
and the hills be removed;
but my kindness shall not depart from thee,
neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed,
saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee

God Never Gives Up on Us

God Never Gives Up on Us

Worship God in Spirit

Out of everything in the whole universe, our human spirit is the most important because it allow us to worship God who is Spirit.

God wants worship, the best (and only) way is to worship God is with our spirit, because God is Spirit. See John 4:24 where Jesus says “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth”.  Notice where there is a capital Spirit referring to God, and a lower case spirit related to our human spirit.

So watch this short devotional video on “Worship God in Spirit”

Then in the book of Zechariah, the writer in 12:1 talks about the heavens, the earth and the spirit of man.  Zechariah 12:1  “The burden of the word of the Lord for Israel, saith the Lord, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth,
and formeth the spirit of man within him”.

In the whole universe, our human spirit is the most important because it allow us to worship God who is Spirit.  Having a human spirit is like having a radio receiver tuned to the right frequency to connect with and listen to God who on the “Spirit” wavelength.

Worship God in Spirit

Worship God in Spirit

Intimacy Between God and Man

God loves us. God is love. It is hard to find a religion where God loves man.
God wants an intimate loving relationship between God and man. When man sins, God loves to restore us. He does not give up on us. The Bible is about God and man.

We as sinful man need a mediator between us and a holy sinless God, and that mediator is Jesus Christ.

Please watch this short video on “Intimacy Between God and Man”

John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

John 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Dead Sea, Israel

Dead Sea, Israel

Never Give Up

Let God strengthen you. Never give up.

So watch this short devotional video on “God Never Gives Up on Us “

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.

Malibu Club - A Young Life Camp, Canada

Malibu Club – A Young Life Camp, Canada

God  hates loves you!

Malibu Club - A Young Life Camp, Canada

Malibu Club – A Young Life Camp, Canada

Jesus as the Focus…

The whole New Testament from Matthew to Revelation, all 27 books has a focus and that focus is Jesus Christ.  So Jesus Christ is the focus of the last book of the Bible, the book called “Revelation”.
Everyone loves a happy ending to any story, and the last book of the Bible tells a happy engine where all evil and sickness is dealt with and God is on the throne ruling over the earth. God finishes the Bible in a happy way.

So watch this short video on “Jesus as the focus of Revelation”

It is called Revelation because the book is a revelation of Jesus Christ throughout the ages till the end of the world where He comes again.

The book of Revelation is a conclusion to the whole Bible. The focus of this book is Jesus Christ. The key verse is the first verse – Rev 1:1 “The revelation of Jesus Christ…”

At the end, all evil is conquered. All evil is thrown into the eternal trash can called the lake of fire. Those who follow evil also end up in the trash.

God is on the throne in a heavenly city, the New Jerusalem. God’s people, who believe in Jesus, will live with Him in this city for eternity and be a part of the eternal happy ending. Again this book’s focus is Jesus Christ. Revelation begins with Christ and ends with Jesus as the Lamb of God on the throne, a happy ending.

Replace fear with FAITH

Faith always encourages us and moves us forward. Fear causes us to slow down, stop and go into paralysis mode making us afraid to do anything.

So watch this short video on “Replace fear with FAITH”

When we go to pray we need to drop the fear and have faith in God.

Even when the sun goes down and the clouds come in - replace fear with Faith

Even when the sun goes down and the clouds come in – replace fear with Faith

Courage means to keep making forward progress while you still feel afraid.

So turn fear into FAITH and replace fear with FAITH.  Don’t let fear and anxiety take over.

2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us a spirit of fear. God has given us a spirit of power, and love and a sound mind. Fear makes our mind go into confusion.

Faith Energizes Us

Faith Energizes Us

Only accept a healthy relationship with the Lord, realizing He loves us and cares for us. Consider the verse in Proverbs “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”.

Don’t let fear stop you.

Some see giants and some look at the same situation and see grasshoppers (we are well able to overcome them)

Beautiful Columbia River

Beautiful Columbia River

Faith always encourages us and moves us forward.

 1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

Psalm 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;  thy rod and thy staff they comfort me

Isa  41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee:
be not dismayed; for I am thy God:
I will strengthen thee;
yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness

Fear Not, just Pray

Fear Not, just Pray

Why Be Anxious, Just Pray

If we are honest, we all have to admit that we have a problem with anxiety. Some, obviously, are more prone to worry than others. It seems that no matter how many problems God solves for us, there is always another problem on the back burner that we can bring to the forefront of our mind and start worrying about. Paul provides a wonderful antidote to this frustrating problem in Philippians 4:6, Be anxious about nothing; but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (by prayer); and the peace of God, which surpasses our understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts by Christ Jesus.

Here is a video in which I shared on this subject.

Paul frequently addresses this issue in the Bible because he understands how easily believers can become anxious and worried. Life is full of challenges and problems. God often allows these problems to come into our lives to humble us, to test what is in our hearts, and to encourage us to turn to Him in trusting prayer.

We have a volitional decision to make. We can choose to worry or we can choose to pray. Prayer takes us into God’s presence, and results in peace of mind as we acknowledge that not only is He able, but He will always bring about the best result for His glory, and for the development of our character. When we choose to keep our eyes on the problem instead of on God, the result is continuing anxiety, restlessness, and discouragement. Paul had to keep reminding his audience, “Let your requests be made known to God”. In other words, we should always remember to pray. Prayer should be our first resort when we face troubles of any kind. Our heavenly Father delights in our prayers, and promises to hear them. These are very encouraging truths from God’s Word.