God's Answer to Discouragement....

The Answer to Discouragement: So often we hear people say that they are tired, discouraged, overwhelmed by life. God provided all things for abundant life in Christ, but we do need to do our part. He tells us in Mark 16:20 that He goes working with us... even Apostle Peter when in jail had to strap on his sandles to get up and follow the angel out to freedom. So too, we need to do our part by... faith. Faith without works (acting on our faith-action) is dead.

So when you are tired, discouraged, overwhelmed what do you do... what is your part to do? First, turn to Jesus, let Him know of your issues/circumstances in prayer. Take authority over the circumstance/issue (enemy) through the use of His might Name by proclaiming and believing His Word. For He tells us He has given us all authority over all power of the enemy... that means sickness, disease, confusion, terror, fear, etc. (Luke 10:19)

Invite God into your circumstance/issue through praise. The Bible says the Joy of the Lord is our strength, but how do we get joy? The Bible says in the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. But how do we get into His presence to have His joy so we may have His strength? Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His presence with praise! The answer is WORSHIP...PRAISE!!

Psalms tells us that when we worship Him we are inviting Him to literally come and sit down among us... when He is with us all evil has to flee! As we submit ourselves to God, the enemy flees. It is a promise. The spirit of heaviness will leave and in comes the floodgates of heaven's joy which becomes our strength!!

So folks let worship Him, for not what we can get from Him but because He truly is WORTHY TO BE PRAISED!! HE is abundant life and being with Him brings victory into our circumstance/life!!! Blessings to you all, Pastor Sandy of http://www.raphactr.org/

Faith or Hope?

Faith is now, right now. It is an inward knowing that what God said He would do, He will do. It is not a struggle to obtain, it is not a wish or a dream. Faith goes past all that to it already is.

Faith is now, or you could look at it as it is actually in the past. It is done. Past tense. When "God said" which is found at least 10 times in Genesis Chapter 1, it was.  God didn't think it might be, but knew as He spoke... it was.

What we as Christians do, is to hope.  Hope kills faith and is the opposite of it. Hope is future tense. Hope believes and looks forward to something happening but doesn't have it now.  If God had hoped the earth might be formed in Genesis 1, then it never would have come into being.  A child hopes for a birthday gift, an adult hopes for a job, a sick person hopes to get well, a single man or woman hopes to find their mate all which indicates they do not have it now, but are optimistic that it will come.  Being optimistic is not bad. It certainly beats having a negative mindset, but as Christians we do not have to hope or try to keep ourselves optimistic. We have something easier and already completed for us.

God gave us His Word, the living Word, in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through Jesus Christ's blood sacrifice that hope is vanished but a knowing came into being.  His promises found in His Word, the Holy Bible are the only way, the truth and give us life. We can count on His promises to be fulfilled, to not ever fail, to not change.  God backs up His Word with Himself which is eternal, all powerful and is now.  He is the "I AM".

When we know that which we hope for is done and was done on the Cross of Calvary, we have a confidence that causes us to be over comers. Our faith is not based upon a frivolous thought or action but based upon a living reality, Jesus Christ and what He bought for us.  God's Word has provided us with abundant life if we will but grab hold of the promises, believe them, and act on what we know to be true.  Jesus gave us everything we will ever need to live life here as Victors, Conquerors, Ambassadors, Kings and Priests unto Him. His atonement broke off every chain the enemy of your soul sought to hold you with.  In believing God's promises then acting upon them ... you enter into the "now" aspect of God. You have that which you ask for, you have that which you know His Word says you have and you believe by faith that it is yours NOW.

No, this isn't mental gymnastics or simply positive thinking but is truth.  When a person is centered in Christ, God's Word says that Christ abides in us, the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth, leads us into the path which we are to take and has given us health through His blood sacrifice.  Abundant life is ours right now. We do not have to hope for it, we have it.

So, grab hold of Christ's hand, believe, receive and act on that which you to know to be truth from God's Word and you will have it.  Mark 11:22-24