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Tag Archive: faith

The storms of life won’t harm you if you have deep roots in God.

May 2, 2014

In Matthew 13:3-6, Jesus told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” One point Jesus makes in this parable is that people without deep roots in God will fall away from faith whenever persecution or trials come on account of the word (see Matthew 13:20-21).

Similarly, Jesus encourages his followers to build their house (i.e. their life) on “the rock” (see Matthew 7:24-27). Even though the wind and storms beat against that house, it did not crumble because it was founded on the rock. If you have deep roots in God, your life will be built on the Rock—Christ. As one hymn says, “On Christ alone I stand, all else is sinking sand.”

It is no surprise, then, that Paul encourages believers to be rooted and built up in Christ, strengthened in the faith (Colossians 2:6-7). If you are strengthened in faith, then you won’t crack under the pressure of difficult situations because you will be able to dig deeply into the word of God on which you are firmly grounded. Unfortunately, too many Christians have a cracked foundation.

Make it a priority to have deep roots in God so that you will not wither under the heat of life. Invest time into reading and memorizing God’s word, praying, and communing with God. Be rooted in God.

Contributed Christ Notes

Tags: Bible, Christ, Christianity, deliverance, faith, God, grace and mercy, Jesus, peace, persecution, prayer, trials and tribulations, Word of God

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Christianity Is A Hard Task

Filed under: Inspirational — 4 Comments

March 26, 2014

Q: I am a young man battling with my Christian faith. Growing up, I was the only one in my household who had a difficulty converting to Christianity as I did not want to conform to the morals and standards of the Christian journey because I found that life boring. However, I began attending church regularly in my late teens. I found myself getting closer to God, especially through my exciting Sunday school classes. The classes were engaging and fruitful. The teacher was the main reason the class was so real to me and uplifting. He portrayed Christ-like qualities, and knew how to express and share the joy he found in the Lord. He went the extra mile to guide me and helped with my decision to be baptized. I was now on the right path, ready to fulfill God’s purpose for me. I believe God placed him in my life. He was an excellent example to how to follow Christ.

I moved to a different parish because of my job, and while there, I found it difficult to find a church. I kept in touch with my old Sunday school teacher, especially when my Christian journey got rough. It is a rough journey. I am trying hard to keep the faith, but that changed one night.

While on vacation, I went out with my non-Christian friends. I had a few drinks too many, and we ended up at a strip club. I felt guilty the entire time I was there and wanted to leave. But when I decided that this place was not for me, I noticed a familiar face in a corner of the strip club. To my amazement, it was my old Sunday school teacher! I immediately walked over to him where I pushed away one of the women. I didn’t have the strength to utter any words. He quickly grabbed my hand and took me outside, trying to formulate some kind of explanation, but failed. He was the one person I could count on to make sure I was doing what was right in the Lord. Now, I am lost and confused and I do not know who I can trust or believe in. How do I find my way back to Christ?

A: The arm of flesh will fail you, so you dare not trust your own. Your Sunday school teacher is not perfect, just like you. He struggles with temptations similar to your struggles. In fact, it is part of human nature to struggle with temptation for the rest of one’s life. Failure to meet the standards of God does not mean one is not a Christian. It means one has fallen short of the Glory of God. Sometimes, we even rebel against God’s will. God is always willing to forgive our failures and sins. God wants erring human beings to be sorry for their wrong actions and pledge to do better.

PUT CONFIDENCE IN GOD

Your confidence should not be in any preacher or Sunday school, but in God. You will need the support of others in the Christian journey. You need to engage in spiritual exercises of meditation, reading of the Bible, prayer and alms-giving. This will make you stronger to continue the Christian walk.

Don’t condemn your Sunday school teacher because you saw him at the strip club. It is better to try to understand him and encourage him to walk the straight and narrow path.

All the best on your spiritual journey.

Courtesy of the Editor (Jamaica Gleaner)

Tags: baptized, Bible, Christ, Christianity, confidence, faith, God, Lord, mediation, strength, struggles, Sunday School, vacation

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I Have Conquered Fear; I Am Now Walking By Faith!

Filed under: Inspirational — 9 Comments

March 15, 2014

Do you fear that life will be a constant struggle and you will continue to live in poverty for the rest of your life? Have you been trying different methods to obtain a financial breakthrough, but kept failing?

Have you been worried that you might get sick, lose your home, lose your job, lose your spouse, get a divorce, lose your profit in a business, and be stabbed in the back by whom you trust? Or that you won’t get married, have children and fulfill your dream of a career? Or you or your children will not amount to any success? The list of scenarios could be much longer than this; nevertheless, let’s get to the matter at hand.

Life is short, you need to enjoy it while it last. God does not want you to walk by fear, but by faith. I used to be in that situation years ago, where I was looking about a specific business, and instead of trusting God, I got worried. Conversely, I realized that ‘worry’ only caused me to get sick and weak, and disallowed me to move forward in the path that God has laid out for me.

Over the years, God has put me through several severe test, which allowed me to prove Him and increased my faith in Him. In fact, while here on earth, Jesus could not do any mighty work, if the people did not have faith in Him. It doesn’t matter what God has promised you, you have got to believe to receive!

In recent time, for reasons I cannot specifically disclose at this time, I was working towards a major project that God has already promised me two years before. I have seen this project materialized in a dream, and God has shown me that He will help me to accomplish this dream. For the same reason, when I got to the point where everything would be materialized, the enemy reared its ugly head. You see, when you get to a point in your life when you will accomplish something great, and Satan knows that your breakthrough is imminent, that’s the time when he works the hardest to plant lies and seeds of doubt in your mind. Why? Satan knows if he plants lies and seeds of doubt in your mind, then your faith will be weakened, and you won’t please God for Him to reward you.

There are certain dreams that you have to accomplish in your life, that God sometimes require your physical help here on earth, while He works supernaturally in heaven. Although this may be true, if you become weak, fearful and doubtful, then you won’t be able to carry through effectively, hence thwarting the plans that God is helping you to accomplish.

All things considered, I again proved what I need to do, in order to have the blessings and plans of God accomplished in my life. In the final stage of this major project when the enemy reared its ugly head, I was getting weak and contemplating what to do. Granted this, I have a picture frame that I bought sometime earlier, because it contains a scripture that I gave my mother-in-law on her death-bed, minutes before she departed this earth. This picture frame has been hanging in my house for about two years untouched. Admittedly, the very day when this major project would be materialized, and I was getting weak and in contemplation from all the exhaustion of working towards the fruition of this project, I cried out to God, and I heard a loud thud! I hurried out to the living room to see what it was, and lo and behold, I saw the picture frame flat on the floor, unbroken! The scripture on the picture frame is:

“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” (Hebrews 11:6).

Well, seeing this, I said, “Lord, I hear you.” I persisted and pressed through by faith, and this major project finally came to fruition that very day!

Given these points, what I have learned through my years as a Christian, if you do not have faith, it is impossible to please God, and if you can’t please Him, then He can’t reward you. For you to get any breakthrough in your life right now, you have got to act through faith, and not only so, because faith without work is useless. You will have to play your part. At the same token, you have got to press!

With that being said, stop believing the lies of the enemy today. There’s something that you have to accomplish, of which you believe won’t be materialized, because you are doubting God. I am not sure who I am speaking to, today. To put it briefly, stop doubting God, and step out in faith right now, to claim that which the Lord has promised!

Amen!

Tags: blessings, faith, financial breakthrough, healing and deliverance, Jesus, Lord, Miracle, peace, perseverance, poverty, Power of God, prayer, strength

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Have You Been Fighting A Losing Battle?

Filed under: Inspirational — 6 Comments

March 7, 2014

When you have done what you can, God will do what you can’t.

Tags: comfort, courage, deliverance, faith, fight, God, joy, lose, peace, prayer, strength, success, winner

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Has Your Joy Been Stolen?

Filed under: Inspirational — 6 Comments

January 29, 2014

In John 10:10 you are warned that the thief comes to steal, kill, and to destroy; but Jesus came that you might have life more abundantly. In this scripture, Satan is being referred to as the thief who steals your joy, in order for you to live a life of misery and defeat.

If you have been through a tough year in 2019 and have been robbed of things that caused you to lose your joy, then 2020 is the year to reclaim what the devil has stolen from you.

Now is not the time to throw in the towel and play a pity party. It’s time to refocus your faith and trust in the Lord, so that He can restore you with unspeakable joy. You are encouraged in Psalms 30:5 that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. So dry your tears, arise and shine; for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you! (Isaiah 60:1)

Tags: broken heart, deliverance, depression, faith, God's glory, happiness, Jesus, joy, motivation, peace, restoration, sadness, Satan

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I’m Homeless and Hungry; Please Help Me!

Filed under: Inspirational — 15 Comments

January 4, 2014

What if you see a sign which reads, “I’m Homeless and Hungry; Please Help Me!” What would you do?

This week a story caught my attention of a man who posed as a homeless and hungry person, in order to give away money to people who stopped to help him. See video below:

As I reflected on this week’s story, I am reminded of 1 Corinthians 13:2, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.”

See the break-down of the criteria from the Scripture below:

Gift of prophecy
Understand all mysteries
Knowledge
Faith
Charity

Needless to say, I am blown away by the last criterion on the list. If one has such a wonderful gift of prophecy, in order to foresee and foretell things that will happen in the future, and can also interpret and relay the mysteries of God, which some people are oblivious of, and knowledge, which spans beyond comprehension, as well as faith so strong that it moves mountains, but have not charity, you have nothing. Charity means the voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need.

I am almost sure that this man who pretended to be homeless and hungry must have met so many rejections on the street, as opposed to the few who stopped to help. However, Paul instructed us to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

As we approach the holiday seasons, there are many people who are less fortunate and maybe in dire needs. Seek your abundant blessings through giving, by helping someone.

Pay it forward!

God bless you all!

Tags: blessings, Charity, Christmas, faith, Financial Blessings, God, help, Homeless and Hungry, Jesus, money, Needy, Poor, Prophecy, Thanksgiving

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Hear What God Says!

Filed under: Inspirational — 5 Comments

December 5, 2013

If I answer your prayer at once, it’s because I am testing your faith. If I did not answer your prayer at once, it’s because I am testing your patience. If I did not answer your prayer at all, it’s because I have a better plan for you.

Remember, God’s promises are yes and Amen! He is God, not man; which explains why He can never fail. Hold on, don’t be discouraged. Your miracle is knocking at the door of your heart.

If something does not happen the way you pray for it to happen and the time you want it to happen, remember your way is not God’s way. You can’t see the future, but He can.

Something might look glittering to you, and you want it now, but the Lord knows deep down, that it’s not the best thing for you; therefore He refuses to let you have it. You, on the other hand, just look at now, and not later. Hence, this is why people sometimes get into trouble when they run ahead of God, and not wait. When the trouble gets unbearable, they have to run back to Him for help.

You cannot handle your problems all by yourself. You’ve got to let go and let God! Everything that glitters is not gold! Let Him determine when it is gold. If He knows it’s gold and it’s good for you, He won’t withhold it from you.

God doesn’t withhold anything good from His people. We are reminded in Psalms 34:17, “The righteous cry, and the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Be among the righteous today, and not among the sinners. You need God’s attention. No matter what the situation is, He is able to deliver.

A little more faith is what you need to see all your needs met. Claim your blessings today! Do not let the devil rob it! He is here to steal and destroy. Therefore, the time you decided to get discouraged and quit, it’s the time the blessing was about to be poured down!

Satan’s job is to frustrate and allow you to lose faith and patience, in order for you to give up and throw in the towel. By doing so, you will lose all that’s in store for you. If the Lord give you something, hold on to it, and do not let the enemy rob it from you. If the Lord has given you a blessing and the devil took it away, reclaim it again! There are more in store!

You’ve got to press! There is blessing in pressing! You can’t get anything too easy. Therefore, when you think of giving up, no matter how rough and chance-less the situation appears, remember that there is nothing impossible with God. You just need to exercise faith and patience.

Don’t forget, the prayer answering God is saying that He has met all your needs!

Tags: blessings, deliverance, endurance, faith, God, Jesus, joy, love, peace, prayer, righteous, salvation, sinner

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Pray for the Philippines

Filed under: Inspirational — 3 Comments

November 9, 2013

Philippine typhoon death toll could reach 10,000. During this difficult time, we are calling all prayer warriors to

Tags: blessings, deliverance, difficult, faith, Healing, help, Jesus, Miracle, philippines, prayer, prayer warriors, restoration, typhoon

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Are you looking at things in the natural?

Filed under: Inspirational — 2 Comments

October 6, 2013

If you want to achieve a new home, a new car, a dream job, or the partner of your dream, healing from an incurable sickness, deliverance from an addiction, the ability to have children, or whatever else you desire that you think you cannot afford, or they are out of your reach, you’re looking at things in the natural.

So often I look on things through my natural eyes and tell God that I cannot afford it or they are out of my reach. However, the very things I looked on in the natural and thought that I couldn’t afford, as they were out of my budget or out of my reach, happened to be the very same things that God has given me.

God has allowed me to eat my words so many times, and I was so embarrassed, because I kept putting a limit on God and placing Him in a box. While I look on things in the natural and think they are impossible, God looks at things from a supernatural angle, and says, “All things are possible.”

If you’re looking at things in the natural, believing you cannot achieve them, you have to ask God for some more faith, patience and strength to see the things you desire from Him materialized through His supernatural power.