Faith

And Jesus answered saying to them, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it shall be granted him.” Mark 11:22-23

Have faith in a faithful God. To understand faith, look no farther than the One who is ever urging us onward, the One who is ever present and all about seeking and saving. We need to trust God, who is our teacher, and study the Word, which is more than a history book—it’s God’s heart revealed.

This Present Result

God is faithful. Whatever you are going through, Jesus is right there wanting to sustain you and give you direction and breakthrough. He’s in the details. He gave His life to restore your access to God. You can trust Him!

It Is Well With My Soul

“And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Genesis 50:20

This statement at the end of Joseph’s life reinforces the providential care of God through the ages. From beginning to end in the Bible, what Satan meant for harm, God turned around for good! (Romans 8:28). And His faithfulness doesn’t stop with the saints found on the stained glass windows.

What Are You Expecting?

Abide in Me, and I in you . . . I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

God has made us His garden, and the Gardener wants us to realize that our branches are designed to bear a lot of fruit: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

Press On During Challenges

Being a Christian doesn’t mean life is easy and troubles disappear. Not so! The Bible is filled with the challenges (and victories!) of real men and women who knew and served their God. So press on. Be encouraged. God is faithful. Key Bible verse: Job 5:19

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The Faith Perspective

The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior . . . Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you? Judges 6:12, 14

God’s perspective is different from our perspective. When God sent an angel to call Gideon to save Israel from oppression, Gideon saw only his own weakness. Like Gideon, we often see ourselves through our limited viewpoint. Instead, we should look into the mirror of the Word to see ourselves as God sees us.

New Beginnings

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

The Genesis revelation—that the creation of this world was not a random accident but was initiated by the eternal God—reveals an origin of value, purpose, hope, and endless possibilities. God made us in His image and He has designed Kingdom purposes for each one of us.

Confidence

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

Let that verse steep in your spirit. What God begins, He brings to completion. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass (1 Thessalonians 5:24). Whether your life is humming or you feel fatigued, God is faithful yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8; 1 Corinthians 1:9a; Psalm 33:4).

Action That Leads to Breakthrough

Key Bible verses: Psalm 3; Psalm 64:1 When life gets tough, it’s not time to despair; it’s time to get desperate . . . for God. Follow in the footsteps of King David as he declares his trust in God and his conviction that God is faithful and He will see you through.

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God Is Faithful

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

You may have been meditating on some pretty weird stuff, but God wants us to focus on things that are excellent and worthy of praise. If we are really going to revolutionize the world, we’ve got to be different in our thinking.

Consider Jesus

When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained; what is man that You take thought of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty! Psalm 8:3-5

On the next clear night, bundle up and go look at the stars. Consider the One who made them and how much He cares about you personally. The quiet moments are more important than you may realize.

Walk the Walk

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. Ephesians 4:1-2

We are called to a walk. I remember when the Good News reached and pulled me out of the pit and made my footsteps firm (Psalm 40:2). When God pulled us out of darkness, He called us to a life of faith that impacts the nations. We now have the ability to pray huge prayers and see culture shaped right from St. Louis.