Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day, in the United States, is a holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. Thanksgiving was celebrated nationally in 1789, after a proclamation by George Washington. It has been celebrated as a federal holiday every year since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens." As a federal and public holiday in the United States, Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays of the year. The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World at the Plymouth Plantation in 1621. According to historic accounts, this feast lasted three days, and it was attended by 90 Native Americans. It was first and foremost celebrated as a religious observance of the blessings of God upon the early settlers. 

Although the colonist did not call the celebration Thanksgiving, it was the first corn harvest proved successful by the new colonists. After being plagued with sickness and death, there was definitely something to be thankful to God for. So, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited a group of the fledgling colony’s Native American allies, including the Wampanoag chief Massasoit. While no record exists of the historic banquet’s exact menu, the Pilgrim chronicler Edward Winslow wrote in his journal that Governor Bradford sent four men on a “fowling” mission in preparation for the event, and that the Wampanoag guests arrived bearing five deer. Historians have suggested that many of the dishes were likely prepared using traditional Native American spices and cooking methods. The meal, most likely, did not feature pies, cakes or other desserts, which have become a hallmark of contemporary celebrations. Today, in the United States, Thanksgiving is the most traveled holiday of the year.

In many American households, the Thanksgiving celebration has lost much of its original religious significance. Instead, it now centers on cooking and sharing a bountiful meal with family and friends. Although turkey has become all but synonymous with the holiday, it may or may not have been on the menu of this inaugural feast in 1621. According to the National Turkey Federation, today, nearly 90 percent of Americans eat some type of foul, whether roasted, baked or deep-fried, on Thanksgiving Day. Other traditional foods include stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, a variety of vegetables and pumpkin pie. Volunteering is also a common Thanksgiving Day activity. Communities, especially churches, often hold food drives and host free dinners for the less fortunate. Parades have also become an integral part of the holiday in cities and towns across the United States. Although these things may have some redeeming qualities, there is one thing that has certainly corrupted Thanksgiving Day which began Thanksgiving Day 2014. Unfortunately, most department stores and retailers have permitted greed to erode this day of giving thanks to become a day of making a profit. Although today, 2023, many retailers offer sales before Thanksgiving Day and will opt to remain closed to honor the day.

Although there has been a departure in the United States of the true meaning and reason for celebrating Thanksgiving, and although there may be some who disagree that Thanksgiving was a religious event, believers should never let any sector of society deprive us of celebrating Thanksgiving from its original roots, celebrating the wonderful works of God. The Apostle Paul tells us, "In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18) Believers are to maintain an attitude of gratitude. We should always remember what the Lord Jesus Christ did for humanity. The fact that He left the glory of heaven to take on the form of a man (Philippians 2:5-8), becoming sin with our sin, sick with our sicknesses (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10), and every curse of the law (Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13), should cause every believe to be extremely thankful and to greatly rejoice. To rejoice is a spontaneous, unsustainable feeling of jubilance; a feeling so strong that it finds expression in some external act, clapping, dancing, shouting. It means to be exceedingly joyful.

Even in our prayer time believers are to be thankful, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6) "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men." (1 Timothy 2:1) So, during this festive holiday, let us truly offer the Lord the fruit of our lips from hearts of thanksgiving, of how great and wonderful He is. Let us give Him thanks for the wonderful blessings that He has given and continues to give. May the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ fill you with thanksgiving everyday...

Fit For Duty

"Survival of the fittest" is a phrase first used by Herbert Spencer after reading Charles Darwin's "On the Origin of Species" in which he drew parallels between his own economic theories and Darwin's biological ones, writing, "This survival of the fittest, which I have here sought to express in mechanical terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called natural selection, or the preservation of favored races in the struggle for life." In Christian terms, in a sense, we can term survival of the fittest as the struggle between the spirit and the flesh. The Apostle Paul reveals a very important point concerning these two entities, "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish." (Galatians 5:17)

When the Bible uses the word flesh, it indicates the combination of the body and soul (mind, will and emotions). (Genesis 6:3; Romans 7)  Although at the moment when a person confesses Christ as Lord and receives Him as Savior the Holy Spirit takes up residence, many believers are still controlled by the flesh as though it did not die with Christ and was raised up again in Him. (Romans 6:4-5) The problem comes because they have not truly believed in the accomplished fact of Christ's death and resurrection for them. This does not mean that they are not saved, it simply means that they have not acted upon the Word of God and the call of the Holy Spirit to follow the principle of death and resurrection, that is, "walk in newness of life." According to the finished work of Christ, at the moment of regeneration all believers have died and have been resurrected with Christ. Accordingly, it is every believers responsibility to die to self and live to God. (Romans 6:11)

This condition is nothing new to the church. The Apostle Paul confronted this very issue with the church at Corinth, "And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?" (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) We see that the Apostle Paul divides believers into two categories; spiritual and fleshly or carnal. Today, many view the spiritual believer as abnormal or even fanatical, yet he is actually normal. It is the fleshly or carnal believer who is abnormal. The church at Corinth were believers, but they were fleshly or carnal believers.  

When we speak of regeneration, it is a birth by which the innermost part of man's being, as the Apostle Peter says, "the hidden person of the heart" (1 Peter 3:4), that is, the hidden spirit of a person, is renewed, recreated, and indwelt by the Spirit of God. When regeneration occurs, it requires time for the power of this new life to penetrate the flesh and bring it into dominion to the recreated spirit. Therefore, we cannot expect to find the strength of "the young men" nor the experience of "the fathers" manifested in the life of a newly born child of God. (1 John 2:12-14)  No matter how much the new believer may love the Lord or love the Truth, the facts is, he may not understand just how strong his flesh is. So, what are the reasons why many believers do not grow from babes? 

I believe it stems from three main reasons. One is that church leaders (Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, or Teachers) neglect to disciple them properly, that is, "teaching them to  observe (hold fast; continue in) all things" commanded by Christ (Matthew 28:20). This lack prevents the believer from moving beyond intellectual or theoretical knowledge, to experience, believing and acting on the Word of God. Secondly, it may be that the believer has convinced himself that spiritual advancement is not necessary. This is shear ignorance of coming to the reality of "that which is flesh is flesh and that which is spirit is spirit." (John 32:6) Thirdly, the believer is just unwilling to grow in their faith. This is a reflection of one who is stubborn and unteachable. No matter what the case, all are schemes of the devil to keep believers complacent and lethargic. It is not God's intention that believers remain babes "who are tossed two and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting." (Ephesians 4:14) 

Although the Bible does not expect a new believer to be spiritual instantaneously, however, if they should remain as a babe after several years, their situation is sad to say the least. Paul himself points out to the Corinthians that he had treated them as carnal, fleshly, because they were new born babes in Christ, but at the writing of his epistle to them, they should have grown into manhood. They had instead, wasted away their lives by remaining as babes, and were thus still fleshly. Although the church at Corinth was established in a sinful, hedonistic society, it does not necessitate as much time as we think then or today for one to be transformed from the fleshly into a spiritual believer.  It is apparent that Paul thought the same about the church at Corinth.

Two things that are necessary for believers to act upon daily, to break away from the works of the flesh as laid out in the Romans. Paul tells us, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:1-2) We see what believers are to do concerning the body and the soul, that is, the flesh. This is an act of ones will, as well as the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As believers resist the flesh by an act of their will and yielding to the Holy Spirit, there recreated spirit will eventually have dominion over their flesh and the Christian experience will become more challenging and exciting. To sacrifice, means that something has to die, the flesh. To renew the mind is to fill it with the Word of God. 

If you struggle with the works of the flesh, begin to apply what Paul tells us in Romans 12:1-2 as well as asking the Lord to give you the grace to separate you from the struggles that you face in this life that try to steal your peace and joy. Remember, Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) So, grab a hold of Jesus, let faith arise, be led by the Holy Spirit, and experience the abundant life that He has given.

Let It Grow, Let It Grow, Let It Grow

 A very important key to the advancement of our faith is to take action.  The Apostle James tells us, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (James 1:22-25) In other words, believers are to obey and act upon the Word of God, not to merely listen to it. It is implied here, that by merely hearing the Word of God but not acting upon it or not doing it, the believer is deceived. That is, their soul (mind, will and emotions) will reason, excuse them, from being obedient to God's Word. They reason, "it is enough to merely give attention to the Word" because that is all that is demanded of them. For those who hear and act upon God's Word, they shall be blessed because God's Word has the power to exert life over the believers entire being, spirit, soul and body.

If our faith is not kept active, that is, continuously releasing the promises and power of God, believers will not advance in the faith, and therefore Christianity does not differ from any other religion. Again, it is possible to become stuck in a certain 1evel of faith, and there are clear signs that show when faith has become stagnate and inactive. For example, when evidence of spiritual life is lacking in a congregation, when miracles, signs, wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit are either not experienced or have altogether ceased, when God's presence is not to be found especially during worship, when believers do not share their faith or when God's Word and prayer are more or less a non-essential, people's faith will stop growing. James goes on a little further when he says, "What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?...Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:14, 17-18)

These are very serious words and unfortunately, many believers equate good works, such as, feeding the poor, clothing the naked, etc., though good things, as being a doer of the Word. They believe that good works in an of themselves is acting on the Word of God through faith. The Apostle Paul tells us, "knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. " (Galatians 2:16) The works of the law represents works of the flesh, that is, the ability of the person doing things that seem right in their own eyes or the eyes of men. This has absolutely nothing to do with faith in Jesus Christ, His ability working in us to do His will. (Philippians 2:13) Again, that which is works, without faith is dead.   

Truth is present, and faith is now. Faith has an expiration date. If yesterday's faith were sufficient, the Bible would not command that believers are to go "from faith to faith." Yesterday's revelation may not be relevant when we try to activate it today. Think of it from this perspective. God provided fresh bread (manna) in the wilderness for Israel each day. However, if they would try to store today's manna to be used the next day, it would stink and be filled with worms, that is, unfit for nourishment. (Exodus 16) Revelation from the Holy Spirit is much the same. When Jesus was tempted by the devil to turn a stone into bread, His response was, "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) This is how believers walk by faith, by living on every Word of God. Always remember, what used to work yesterday, may no longer work today.

If you feel that your faith is inactive, this is the time to exercise it so that you may enter into a new level of faith in God because faith is now. If your faith is active and you are serving God, you can advance to the next level of faith. As you advance into a new level of faith, you will find that true Christianity is always fresh and exciting. You will begin to experience miracles, signs and wonders in your own life as well as stretching forth your faith to others and see the same manifest in their lives. No matter what stage of spiritual maturity you have progressed to, if you desire to grow spiritually, I would like to encourage you to pray this prayer with me..."Father, please give me new revelation that will take me to another level of faith. Connect me with men and women who can help me release my faith, so I can bless others by praying for the sick, and minister to those who need a touch of Your supernatural power. I thank you and ask this in Jesus name." Amen.

Finally, some things that will help us keep perspective as to the things of true Bible faith, the faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6) and that makes the impossible possible (Mark 9:23) let us keep in mind that faith is not presumption, hope, or optimism. It is our response to the Word of God, which is revealed to believers by the Holy Spirit so that we might operate in, and exercise dominion over, the dimension of time, space, and matter. When the Bible refers to the flesh, it is the combination of both the body and soul (Genesis 6:3; Romans 7). The Apostle Paul tells us that the flesh and spirit are contrary to one another (Galatians 5:16-18). Therefore, remember, there is a conflict between human reason and faith because each belongs to a different realm; reason is temporal, while faith is eternal. Faith is the past and the future united in the present. The following are some principles for walking in and by faith...

Faith is in the now; Faith belongs to God and comes from God; Faith perceives the things of the unseen, spiritual realm; All believers have been given a measure of faith; Faith feeds on and grows through trials, tribulations and or impossible circumstances; Faith releases the power of God; miracles, signs and wonders; Faith does not operate by reason but through continuous revelation of and from God; Continuous revelation of and from God will take us to higher dimensions of faith; Believers are to be doers of the Word through faith in Jesus Christ; If our faith is not kept active and advancing "from faith to faith," nothing will happen; If faith does not advance, Christianity is nothing more than any other religion; As faith advances, Christianity is always fresh and exciting...

I pray that your faith has advanced and will continue to do so. I truly believe it is God's desire to motivate us to receive new revelation each day to move "from faith to faith" for His glory, that the name of Jesus be magnified and the Word of God prevail mightily throughout the entire earth. Amen...

Words

Words play a very important part in the believers life. Unfortunately, most believers who deal with constant defeat are defeated because they believe and confess the wrong things. The Bible tells us, "You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth." (Proverbs 6:2) To be snared from a biblical perspective indicates, to be robbed; plundered; hid in prison-houses; to become prey; to be spoil; to be held in bondage. As we can see, words can defeat believers. This is not a theory, but fact, because it is a spiritual law. If we look at the account of creation we see that God Himself uses words. In a sense, we can say that God is a faith God and that He releases His faith through words, "God said...and it was so".

The Apostle Paul tells us, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children." (Ephesians 5:1) Believers are to literally be imitators of God as children imitate their parents. To imitate God, we must talk like Him as well as act like Him. He would not asks us to do something that we are not capable of doing. We see this very law in operation in the life of Jesus during His ministry on earth as the Son of Man. He spoke to the wind and sea and it obeyed Him (Mark 4:35-41); He walked on water (Matthew 14:22-33); He spoke to a fig tree (Mark 11:12-25); He even spoke to the dead to live (John 11); He also cast out evil spirits and healed the sick with a word (Matthew 8:8, 16). Jesus was imitating His Father (John 8:29)  As we see, faith filled words, speaking God's Word, will accomplish great result. But we must also keep in mind that devil laden words will also accomplish something. They will defeat you; hold you in bondage. 

Think about it. Do you really want all the negative things you have been confessing to come to pass? Are you really believing for those things? If Jesus came to you personally and said, "from this day forward it will come to pass, that everything you say will happen exactly as you say it." Do you suppose that would change the words you speak? Our spoken words program our heart (recreated spirit) for either success or defeat. The apostle James tells us, "If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless." (James 1:26) Our greatest example of this is found in Genesis 3:1-5. Satan tempted Eve with a question. If she would have allowed her soul (mind, will and emotions) to be completely under the dominion of her spirit she would have rejected the question. However, the fact is, by exercising free will, reasoning in her mind, her spirit began to lose dominion. She allowed her soul to have dominion and deceive her heart. She was snared by the words of her mouth; She was taken by the words of her mouth." The results were beyond what any words could describe.

The Bible tells us "who (Jesus) being the brightness of His (the Father's) glory and the express image of His (the Father's) person, and upholding all things by the word of His power..." (Hebrews 1:3) God's Word is His power and it is just as powerful today when released with faith from the believer lips as it was when God Himself first spoke it. Isaiah tells us, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:11) The only way that God's Word loses its power is when it is unspoken by believers. Look at this promise from the Lord to all believers, "For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says." (Mark 11:23) 

This is a very simple truth, but oh how profound and far reaching it seems to be. This spiritual law works both ways. For as long as believers say what they have, good or bad, they will have what they say. Our words will produce no more than what is said. The Apostle Paul tells us, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life." (Galatians 6:7-8) This applies to more than just spoken words, but we can get the point from this verse. We can see that either way, good words or destructive, negative words will set a spiritual law in motion that will give us victory or defeat. The spiritual law is based on the same basic principle of seed-time harvest. (Genesis 8:22) The words you speak are seeds (Mark 4:1-29) that produce after their kind. (Genesis 1:11) Just as sure as they are planted, you can be equally sure a harvest will follow.

Finally, when we study the life of Jesus we can find what caused Him to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil. He spent much time in prayer; He never prayed the problem; He only prayed the solution, that is, what God said and He only spoke the desired end result. (John 12:49) He also only and always used the Word to defeat the works of the devil. (Matthew 4:1-11) So, as the Apostle Paul tells us, "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." (Ephesians 4:29) Let us walk in victory by speaking faith filled victorious words, that is, speaking the truth (the Word) through love...

Revelation Knowledge

Though there is a place for human reasoning, it can become a stronghold in the lives of believers. This happens when believers accept, as facts, human explanations for why we are sick, impoverished, experiencing mental or emotional anguish or when it causes us to justify or make excuses for holding on to addictions, unforgiveness, bitterness, or other sins. This is why it is of the utmost importance that all believers continuously experience a rising of their faith to a greater dimension. Faith gives believers the ability to see beyond the natural realm.

The Apostle Paul tells us, "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:17) It is continuous revelation of God from the Holy Spirit that will take us to a higher dimension of faith, that is, faith to faith. When we go from one level of faith to another, our faith moves forward from the place to which we have already advanced into a greater level of faith. For instance, say you were suffering from constant headaches. One day your level of faith had advanced to where headache symptoms that try to come upon you are gone before they take hold because you have received in your spirit a revelation of healing and have acted upon it. But now the day has come by your continuously standing on and speaking God's Word to sickness, that your faith has advanced to a higher level and any symptoms of sickness that try to come upon you can no longer attach themselves to you. Because you have advanced in faith, from faith to faith, you give no thought to headaches; therefore the symptoms of a headache will never affect you again. 

Again, an essential key to advancement in faith is continuous revelation, or revealed knowledge of God by the Holy Spirit. Faith advances through revealed knowledge. One cannot exercise faith in something that they do not know. When a person lacks revealed knowledge, it is impossible for that person to move to the next leve1 of faith. But when revelation is present, faith can catapult the individual into a new place. The advancement of faith occurs when we receive revelation knowledge of God, believe it, and then act on the knowledge we have received. Therefore, to walk by faith, we must have a revelation of God, or put another way, we must have God's knowledge. Faith and knowledge from God always go together. 

If revealed knowledge ceases, faith also ceases. Without continuous revelation of God, human reasoning will eventually take hold and we will believe only what our five senses can understand, the natural realm. This leaves believers in a vulnerable place. The Prophet Hosea says it this way, "My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me..." (Hosea 4:6 NLT) Remember, we cannot have faith in something we do not know or do not believe. This means that we cannot allow our faith to become stagnant. This is why we must advance from faith to faith. The Christian life was never designed to stay at one level of faith. In fact, the Apostle Paul had to confront the church at Corinth with their lack of spiritual advancement, (1 Corinthians 3:1-4) and the writer of Hebrews dealt with the same. (Hebrews 5:12-14) 

Finally, we see that "the just shall live by faith," that is, the just person, or the righteous person, shall live by his confidence in God. A believers faith is to advance to where their confidence in God should sustain them, and preserve them from the satanically corrupted world system, or as the Apostle Peter said, "from this perverse generation." (Acts 2:40) It is not by reliance on our own works, abilities or merit, it is by confidence in God, that is by faith, that we are to live. God wants us to advance to a greater level of faith, but for that to happen, we need revelation to pave the way. If we want to walk from faith to faith, we cannot ignore God's revelation for each day. We cannot walk in greater faith today with yesterday's revelation because faith is now, always in the present. "Now faith is..." (Hebrews 11:1)

What is the Reason?

The word "Reason" is defined in two basic ways. The first deals with a cause, an explanation or the grounds for making a decision, for example, "The reason why I am late is due to road construction on the route that I had taken." The other way the word "Reason" is defined is the power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic. This is what is referred to as human reasoning. As we can see in the latter definition, there is a close connection between reason and emotion, whereas the former definition has nothing to do with an emotional response.

When it comes to believers exercising faith, they must fully understand that human reason never stands on the side of faith. When believers resort to reason, it separates us from or neutralizes faith. This is the very tactic that the devil used when speaking to Eve. His questions caused Eve to use her human reasoning which, in a sense, caused her to question God's Word or God Himself as to whether He was being truthful or forthright. "Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1) “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:4-5)

If we were to consider much of what God did, as recorded in the Bible, with the natural mind, it would no doubt seem to be unbelievable, far fetched or as the Bible records, foolishness. (1 Corinthians 2:14) This is why we must learn to see and hear with spiritual eyes and ears. Let's consider the miracle of creation (Genesis 1) Everything seen and unseen came to be in this way, "God said, and it was so." We cannot understand God's brilliant, masterful work of creation without faith. (Hebrews 11:3) This is why man has devised many "theories" that cannot be proven concerning creation. What about what God instructed Noah to do? God instructed Noah to build a massive ship (ark) that would save him, his family as well as a specific number of "birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing of the earth after its kind." (Genesis 6:20) A miracle took place when the birds, animals and creeping things began to arrive from everywhere to enter the ark and coexisted peacefully within the ark for months without attacking each other. Such a miracle can only be understood by faith.

How about, Israel, led by Joshua? They conquered the impenetrable City of Jericho by doing nothing more than "seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns that went before the ark of the Lord continually blowing the trumpets, with the armed men going before them with the rear guard coming after the ark of the Lord...and shouting a great shout." (Joshua 6:13, 20) Even a greater miracle happened in the incarnation of Jesus. (Matthew 1:18-25) How can anyone fathom the one and only true invisible God, God the Word, (John 1:14) becoming a man by being birth through a virgin? (Luke 1:26-38) It is impossible without faith. This is why the Bible tells us, "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) By human reasoning, none of these things make sense.  

Faith cannot be judged or proven in a court of law where reason rules because there are no books or codes that can judge faith. Jurisprudence is based on human reasoning and deals with only facts
and physical evidence that can be proven on the basis of our natural senses. Faith will never find place in a court of law. This is a good reason why one believer should not take another believer to court. (1 Corinthians 6:1) In a similar way, if a physician diagnoses a sickness, even though God's Word reveals that healing is a part of redemption in Christ, the human mind will most often believe the physicians verdict of sickness. It is not to deny that the sickness does not exist when it does, it is simply that reasoning only understands the natural realm, that is, what the five senses can comprehend. The more time we spend trying to reason what God wants to do in and through us, the more we will lose the manifestation of His supernatural, miracle power and blessings that He has given us. 

For believers to get past the natural realm, we must cast aside our human reasoning, accept and act upon God's Word without question. Only then will we be able to realize that everything He does makes sense. If you are a preacher or teacher of the Word, you are called to build the faith of those who hear you, so that unbelief does not take root in their hearts and minds. Preachers are to speak God's Word with faith so that the hearers faith is activated for the supernatural. To live by faith, therefore, we must disconnect our natural reasoning ability and allow the Holy Spirit to transform our minds and open our spiritual eyes to see what God can do. If we act only out of human reason, we will doubt God's Word every time, because faith believes God even when everything else shouts the complete opposite. 

We also need to keep in mind, what physical exercise is to our body, faith is to our recreated spirit. We must constantly exercise our faith or it will not grow. So, let us look at every circumstance that life may bring us as an opportunity to grow our faith and see the supernatural power of God go to work in and through us for His glory...  

Fully Convinced?

One of the greatest examples of faith is exhibited in the life of Abraham. According to the Bible, "Now the Lord had said to Abram: Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you....So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran." (Genesis 12:1, 4) Notice that Abram was seventy-five years old when the Lord called him. He did not have a Bible filled with God's Word that he could look to, to build his faith. (Romans 10:17) He only had the Word that God spoke to him. This in itself should challenge our faith to go beyond the faith that Abram exhibited because we have a greater revelation from God in His Word. Abram lived out the Word of the Lord for another twenty-four years before God spoke to him to bring forth His Word, "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless." (Genesis 17:1) Then finally a year later, God's promise to Abram, now Abraham, had manifested, "Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." (Genesis 21:5) Abraham had to stretch his faith to the limits for twenty-five years believing that God's Word would come to past.  

The faith that Abraham exhibited was so impressive that he is spoken of throughout the New Testament. Romans tells us, "And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." (Romans 4:19-21)  Noticed that Abraham was strengthened in faith. As a human being, Abraham did not have the faith he needed. God's supernatural power had to come upon him to give him the faith needed to strengthen him. God filled him with His faith (Romans 12:3) to help him wait for the son he was promised. After Abraham had received strengthening from God, he was persuaded, fully convinced and had the conviction to wait for the manifestation of what God had promised by His Word. 

God wants to do the same with us. He wants to use His power to blow apart our doubt and unbelief and to fil1 us with His faith to receive the miracles He has prepared for us. Like Abraham, when we are persuaded, or totally convinced, nothing can make us waver or doubt. Regardless of what people say, or what the circumstances may dictate, we know that nothing can change what God has spoken. (Psalm 89:34; Isaiah 40:8; Mark 13:31) Some people doubt that God's promises will come to pass because they are not fully convinced. It is the God kind of faith that brings the conviction needed to see His promises manifest. Remember, Jesus said, "...Have faith in God." (Mark 11:22) A more literal translation of this verse is, "Have God's faith" or "Have the God kind of faith." 

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:7-11) We receive faith to believe as God believes by simply and humbly asking Him something like this, "Heavenly Father, I open my heart so You can fil1 it with Your own faith. Destroy in me a1l doubt, fear, unbelief, human reasoning, and arguments so that I may receive the miracles You promised me, as well as ministering your promises to others through the faith You have imparted into my life. I thank you and ask this in Jesus Name."  
 

James tells us that when we ask God for something, to, "ask in faith, with no doubting." Jesus tells us, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24) The key is "ask without doubt and believe that you receive."  God wants to give us explosive faith today to continue the ministry of Jesus on earth until He returns, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19) But we must be fully convinced that He is willing and able to work through us supernaturally to once again turn this world upside down for His glory.