Learn to Choose Faith!

" ... 'All things are possible to him who believes.'

Immediately the boy's

father cried out and said,

'I do believe; help my unbelief.'"

 Mark 9:23-24

Why did God gave us the Scriptures?

Most of us will agree it's the primary means by which He reveals Himself and His plan of salvation. But I think we're also supposed to understand that it helps us anticipate and recognize God when He reveals Himself in personal encounters with us today.

Jesus said it was evident that the Pharisees did not have the Word abiding in them because it hadn't prepared them to recognize and receive Him. The implication is clear - abiding in Scripture is to prepare and position us for encounters with God in which we can respond with faith.

That is, faith is the primary evidence of the Word abiding in us. When we have an encounter with God, we respond with either faith or unbelief. The choice then creates conditions that affect the way God relates to us.

The goal of course - learn to choose faith!

Blessings,

Melissa

Rejoice in the Lord

“This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Psalms 118:24

As we continue to move into these last days here on the earth we must purpose in our hearts to rejoice and be glad in our rejoicing. We can have correct theology in this regard without truly being glad. David is telling us to not just rejoice but at the same time be glad in our rejoicing. Our country along with the rest of the world is in a mess and the mess is going to get more messy.

When Jesus was here in the flesh 2,000 years ago we can see that Israel was basically in a big mess. Naturally his disciples were wanting to know how and when the end was going to take place. Jesus told them to be careful and not let anyone deceive you about the end times. Matthew 24 tells us what Jesus was sharing with his disciples in this regard. He shared that there would be false teachers along with wars and rumors of wars at the same time of major famines and earthquakes.

You don’t have to be a prophet to see all this in action today. Our attitude about all of this is extremely important. We must be very careful that we don’t spend all of our times worrying about all that is taking place across the earth. Yes, we are to acknowledge that this is the day the Lord has made and we are to rejoice and be glad in all of this. Praise God that we are living in the last days of the last days.

The Lord spoke to my heart many years ago that I would live to see Psalm 91 fulfilled. The Lord showed me that the first two verses are extremely important to grasp and embrace with all of my heart if I expected to see the rest of this Psalm come to pass in my own life.

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand). I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I (confidently) trust!” Psalms 91:1-2

Ruby and I saw on more than one occasion while we were living in Israel the keeping power of God when faced with situations that could produce terror. The Lord had me drive through Arab towns telling me that they simply did not see us. Glory! Our God is able to hide us in His secret place when all hell is breaking loose around us. Derek Prince once said that walking in faith is like walking on the edge of disaster. God tells us in this Psalm that we are going to behold destruction all around us and yet it will not touch us.

Only by God’s love, mercy and grace can we live with a mind of peace and security in Him.


Prayer:
Lord, we are asking you to cause us to embrace your great salvation. Cause us to truly embrace your keeping power in this day of much turmoil. Lord, cause us to rejoice in You and to be glad for such a loving God that you are. Our trust is in you Lord. Amen and Amen.

Blessings,

Melissa