Circumstantial Faith!

The word circumstance is a compound word that means, to stand in a circle. 

Sometimes you're surrounded by problems that are trying to defeat you and attack you on every side. In 2 Kings chapter 6 Elisha and his servant were surrounded by the Syrians all around the city by horses and chariots.

The servant of Elisha was afraid and asked his master what should they do? Elisha simply prayed that God would open up the eyes of his servant that he would see that there were more for them than against them. The Lord opened up the eyes of the servant to see that Elisha and the servant were surrounded by horses and chariots of fire roundabout on the mountains.

Dirty diapers

Formation Toolbox: 

By Benjamin O’Loughlin

Christmas is over. But not just for us. For Jesus, Joseph, and especially Mary, who’s already changed 17 days worth of diapers. Yes, Baby Jesus wore diapers… and Mary had to change them.

That’s what I call faith. Not that changing diapers is anything special. I’m the oldest of 6, and as a kid I put in my fair share of hours changing siblings’ diapers.

Mary changing diapers is faith because there are few things more real, concrete and down to earth than the smell of freshly – or not so freshly – dirtied diapers.

Living in the Balance of Grace & Faith

At our Gospel Truth Seminars, I always take time before meetings to talk with friends and partners. One of the most common questions I'm asked is "What do I need to do to receive the blessings of God?" It is usually followed by this explanation: "I have been praying, reading my Bible, going to church, and paying my tithes, yet I don't seem to be able to get my prayers answered."

In that question and explanation lies the root of the problem: They have fallen into the trap of linking God's response to their performance. They have not properly understood the balance of grace and faith and their relationship to each other.

By definition, the word grace means unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor. Therefore, the good news is, grace has nothing to do with you. Grace existed before you ever came to be. Another way of saying it is, grace is God's part. Faith is defined as being a positive response to what God has already provided by grace. In other words, faith is your positive response to God's grace, or faith only appropriates what God has already provided for you. Therefore, faith is your part.

Mighty Things Through Faith

Written by Dr. Bill Bright

“And so [Jesus] did only a few great miracles there, because of their unbelief.” Matthew 13:58

It was my first visit to Nazareth, and through a series of fortuitous circumstances, I found myself enjoying lunch with one of the city’s prominent leaders. As we talked together in the crowded dining room our conversation turned to Jesus Christ, and ultimately this gentleman bowed his head and began to pray aloud, inviting Christ to be his Savior and Lord.

The change seemed to be immediate and dramatic, and follow – up has proven that God did meet him and change his life. During the course of our conversation, he indicated that what I had shared with him was a new truth. Though he was religious and active in his church, he never had been told that he should receive Christ.

Where Faith Gets Awfully Messy

Lysa TerKeurst

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Last year I had emergency surgery on my ears. And while the pain went away, there is still a really loud, constant ringing in my left ear.

Because of this ringing, I've had many sleepless nights. But one night in particular proved to be more than I thought I could handle. The screeching in my ear reached an all time high and not even medication helped. My throat tightened as frustration of this situation threatened to spill out in a million tears. I could feel myself slipping over a terrifying edge ... that edge where hopelessness steps into the moment and you feel too weak to resist it.

Start Speaking Faith Now

"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things." (Matthew 12:34-35)

Words won't work without faith any more than faith will work without words! It takes them both to put the law of faith in motion.

Many believers don't realize that. They'll continually speak words of doubt and unbelief, then they'll jump up one day and say a couple of faith words and expect mountains to move-- and to their dismay, they don't.

Why not?

Because as Matthew 12:34-35 says, it's the words that come from the heart that produce results. The person who just throws in a couple of faith words now and then isn't speaking them from the abundance of his heart, so they're not effective.

Does that mean you shouldn't start speaking words of faith until you're sure you have the faith to back them?

When Faith Triumphs

Pastor Colin Smith

 

"Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth." 1 Kings 17:24

 

The boy was raised from the dead.  The woman received back her son, and at the end of the story, she says these words of faith to Elijah.

 

If you're a Christian today, then it's true you've begun the journey of faith.  It's also true that your faith is being tested.  And one day you will stand in the presence of Jesus and say, "Now I know."  That's the point of the resurrection.  Faith will be turned to sight.  Every question will be answered, and every tear will be wiped away. 

Hezekiah : The Man Who Asked for Added Years

Hezekiah [Hĕze kī'ah] — jehovah is strength or a strong support is jehovah. Also given as Hizkiah, Hizkijah, Ezekias.1. Son and successor of Ahaz as king of Judah (2 Kings 16:20). He is referred to in well over one hundred references in 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Jeremiah, Hosea and Micah.

The Man Who Asked for Added Years

Hezekiah was one of the best kings who ever sat upon the throne of Judah, and is distinguished as the greatest in faith of all Judah’s kings (2 Kings 18:5). Sincere and devout, he was not a perfect man by any means, nor outstanding because of any brilliant gifts he possessed. This good king, however, is to be admired when one remembers his family background. Having such a wicked, apostate father as Ahaz, the wonder is that his son became the noble king he did. He had no pious training, but only a heritage of weakness in his moral fibre, for which God graciously made all fair allowance.

Abednego : The Man Who Defied a King

Abednego [Ăbĕd'-negō]—servant of nebo or servant of light. The name given by the prince of the eunuchs of King Nebuchadnezzar to Azariah, one of the four young princes of Judah who were carried away into Babylon. He was one of the three faithful Jews delivered from the fiery furnace (Dan. 1:7; 2:49; 3). How God honored the faith and courage of these Hebrew youths!

The Man Who Defied a King

There are at least four lessons to be learned from the dauntless, defiant witness of Abed-nego and his two companions:

Is Your Miracle Passing You By?

Kenneth W. Hagin

To download a free PDF of this book, click here.

And they came to Jericho; and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and

Chapter 1
‘THY FAITH HATH MADE THEE WHOLE’

And they came to Jericho; and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way. —Mark 10:46–52

Snake-Handling Christians: Faith, Prophecy and Obedience

By Nicola Menzie , Christian Post Reporter

Snake handlers at the Pentecostal Church of God, in Lejunior, Ky., are shown in this Sept. 15, 1946 file photo from the National
Archives and Records Administration.

(Photo: NARA/Russell Lee)

The recent death of a Christian minister from West Virginia who believed that the Bible instructs the faithful to handle snakes and drink poison has put into question a doctrine many believe is unbiblical and dangerous but that its adherents, biblical literalists, say they are compelled to obey.

Your Faith Is Your Answer!

 by E. Davenport !

You have a need to get an answer. It is done as long as you have gone before God in faith which is believing He can make it happen. The good news is He can. The bad news is that the forces of hell will try to convince you that the situation is hopeless! DON’T FALL FOR THAT!

Believing Your Prayers Are Decisive

Written by Jack Hayford

Some years ago, the President of our nation called for a "war on drugs." Our church body took that as a signal to launch a prayer attack on the drug cartel, pressing into the realm where spiritual conflict is fought:

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. - Ephesians 6:12

We responded to the call to "war" by wrestling in prayer to see the overthrow of the works of hell that were manifesting that way. Within two weeks, a $20 million shipment of drugs from Colombia was intercepted, the largest drug bust in history up to that date. No sooner had we launched that warfare than there was an encouraging sign of God answering our prayers. That prompted me regarding two things:

Faith When You Can't See a Thing

Written by Jack Hayford

How many times do obstacles get in the way and seem to turn your future opaque? The Bible says that now we see through a glass darkly. But there are times when we don't even see through the glass; all we see is darkness.

The story of Bartimaeus and the ministry of Jesus is one of the greatest stories in the New Testament because of the dynamism it displays about how to trust God when you can't see a thing.
Jesus was traveling southward, towards Jerusalem, coming into Jericho, when He came across a blind man seated by the road. The man couldn't see a thing. It always seemed ironic to me that Bartimaeus was seated in a city in which one of the most important events in the history of people of God took place. The trumpets sounded after the march of Jericho, the place was overwhelmed with the power of God, and spiritual break-through occurred. And yet, with all that history at that site, a man sits there unable to see a thing. Then Jesus came. And in that interaction, we see principles of faith about how to believe, how to stand firm in faith, and how to function when you can't see a thing. It's a lesson to us about how to lead our lives under the leadership of Jesus Christ, how to be led by the Holy Spirit of God, and how to be shaped by Him. Let's look at this text in Luke: 

FAITH THAT IS SEEN

Mark 2:5, "When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee."

MATTHEW 9: 1-8, MARK 2: 1-12, LUKE 5: 17-26

Faith can be seen. Just as Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3:8, faith is like the wind. Faith itself is invisible, but saving faith is always accompanied by corresponding actions which can be seen (Jas. 2:17-26).

It was not only the faith of the paralytic that Jesus saw, but also that of his four friends (Mk. 2:3). This demonstrates the effect our intercession in faith can have upon others. Jesus saw their faith. However, although our faith released on behalf of others is powerful, it is not a substitute for their faith. It is simply a help. The person who is to receive the miracle must have some degree of faith, also. 

Does Athiesm Require Faith?

"The fool has said in his heart that there is no God." - Psalm 14:1

One day, someone caught the comedian W.C. Fields reading the Bible and asked what he was doing. His reply was "just looking for loopholes."* There are a lot of people who read with the same intention of disregarding any evidence.

There are only three options to explain our existence, one is to believe in God, another is agnosticism which states there may be a God but I haven't found proof. The last is atheism where one will state they know God does not exist. Atheism is not just a non-belief in God but a willful denial of his existence. Agnosticism is where one admits that they do not know if God exists.

Which one are you feeding?

TWO WOLVES


One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. 

He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

"One is Evil - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The Day

Rick Joyner

And there was evening and there was morning, one day (see Genesis 1:5).

Here we see that a day begins with the evening. This is a prophecy that with the great things the Lord brings forth, there is usually darkness before the dawn. This is a consistent truth throughout the Scriptures.

For example, Israel was subject to four hundred years of slavery before they were led into the freedom of the Promised Land. Their oppression became the greatest just before they were set free by the power of God. The great saints of Scripture usually went through a period of darkness before they were brought forth into the purposes of God. Joseph had to go through slavery and imprisonment. King David was persecuted by Saul, and chased by the very people over which he was called to rule. Jesus had to go to the cross and die before He could be resurrected to His place of authority and glory.

The Man Whose Birth Caused a Laugh

Isaac [Ī'zaac] he laugheth or laughing one. The son of Abraham and Sarah, who was born at Gerar when

Abraham as one hundred years of age and Sarah was about ninety years old (Gen. 17:19, 21;21:3-12; 22:2-9).

Isaac is one of the few cases in the Bible in which God selected a name for a child and announced it before he was born. In the Old Testament we have Isaac, Ishmael, Solomon, Josiah, Cyrus and Isaiah’s son; in the New Testament, John the Baptist and Jesus.

Isaac’s beautiful and suggestive name, “he laughed,” commemorates the two laughings at the promise of God—the laughing of the father’s joy and the laughing of Sarah’s incredulity which soon passed into penitence and faith (Gen. 21:6). Isaac was the child of the covenant, “I will establish My covenant with him.” To three patriarchs in succession was this covenant specifically given: to Abraham, as he left Chaldea (Gen. 12:3); toIsaac, when in Canaan during the famine (Gen. 26:4); toJacob, at Bethel (Gen. 28:14). Isaac, however, was the first to inherit the covenant, and to him God gave the whole inheritance of Abraham (Gen. 24:35).

Replace Your Fears With Faith

by Jon Walker

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22–23 (NIV)

God supplies more and more and more of his love today, tomorrow, and forever. The prophet Jeremiah says God’s merciful love never fails. His love is like a bottomless cup of coffee served fresh every morning.

Since God’s compassion starts fresh every morning, you will never reach a point where his love runs out. This means you can never blow it so bad that God will abandon you. He is the God-of-second-chances. If you’re uncertain that God can (or has) forgiven you for things you did in the past, ask him to help you replace your fears with faith.