19 Jun

What to do When Fear Grips You

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

6999879557_f288975334_mMost of us have a built-in instinct to run away from something that’s chasing us. We don’t need to ponder the question over in our mind or get on our knees and ask God what to do. We know what to do. Run! But when something happens that fills us with an overwhelming fear and no foreseeable answers, what should we do then?

What we do when we’re afraid is a foundational reaction that will strengthen us with all the conflicts that come against us in life. God tells us that when fear grips us and we don’t know what to do, then we do nothing. We give the problem to Him and WAIT for His peace and His wisdom to come to us.

In Isaiah 40:31 we’re instructed to wait on God – “Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength”.

Fear often puts us into a state of panic, and it’s during these times that we make wrong 2284950973_c1ced20b93_mdecisions and do things that we wouldn’t normally do. When we’re gripped by fear we need to remember two things: firstly, the emotion of fear is built in us to bring us to a sobering state of awareness and realize that certain things are happening; and secondly, that the devil takes advantage of this “fear” and encourages us to react to it negatively.

Jesus tells us many times in the New Testament, “don’t fear”, because He knew that when people were filled with fear they acted impulsively. He wants us to wait for Him. He wants us to give Him the circumstances and the problems that are bringing this fear into our hearts.

5708023188_571740d2e4_mThe Bible tells us in John 16:33, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

He has overcome the world – He has already won over every problem that initiates fear, and so He wants us to give the problem to Him and wait for Him to respond.

Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

We notice here that King David, when crying out to the Lord for help, did three things when he was gripped with fear. First, he gave the problem to the Lord, then he waited while he regained his courage through his confidence in God and then he waited.

Why did David do this? Because he knew that God loved him, that He heard his prayers and that He answered prayers. He knew that God would not “leave him or forsake him”, and he knew that faith in God was the opposite to fear. David knew that if he would give God the problem the fear would fall from him and he could regain his thoughts and his strength.

Initial fear brought David quickly up to date with his situation, but the prolonged fear that lingered in his heart could have caused him to react wrongly and be killed if he didn’t know to give it to God. Jesus is our shepherd and the One who we can call friend. There is nothing that Jesus can’t do if we will just tell Him about it and then trust Him for the answer.3795471125_31a8e7d75c_m

You might ask, “Well, if God is omnipotent and can see the situation before it happens, why do we need to tell Him? Shouldn’t He just get on the scene and help us right away?” No, He shouldn’t. Why? Because God wants us to mature and to be like Him, filled with His spirit and His wisdom, and He wants us to trust Him and not our emotions. He doesn’t want us to live foolishly and then expect Him to just appear and save us from disaster. We do not tempt God. He is not our servant in this world: He is our Lord. 

He wants us to be strong and wise so that we can continue His ministry here on earth. If He just dives into every situation automatically, then He will deny His own mandate and that is for us to have a free will to make our own choices. He doesn’t want anyone to come to Him that doesn’t want to be with Him, so He waits for us to come with a humble heart.

red guy

Our faith is made strong in the middle of our trials. As each one comes – and the Bible says that they will come – the initial fear hits us and we’re scared, BUT we go immediately to God and give the problem to Him. We don’t give any attention to the fear or to the devil who is working it. And then we wait for Him to lead us in wisdom and direction so we can get through the problem in victory.

Each trial we go through builds our faith and trust in God and our love for Him grows. Fear may be the initial shock in a bad situation, but perhaps instead of running from it we could run with it to God because it’s really just another opportunity to be able to cry out, Abba Father, and know that He is there waiting for us with the answer. 

In prayer we give God the problem and our hearts are filled with praise for Him because we know that He WILL lead us safely through it and our faith and trust in Him will grow. We don’t let fear rule us. We let God direct us and that fear will quickly melt away and become an emotional feeling of thanksgiving. Praise God!

What would you rather do: Run in a direction because God is leading you or run because the devil in the guise of fear is chasing you?

“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”  … Isaiah 40:31

954613_681318915226845_230126598_n

29 May

What Swear Words Offend God?

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

2724050428_6799547dc7When we think of swear words that offend us there are dozens that come to mind. We even think of the Lord’s name being used as a swear word and it grieves us. As children we were taught to not use them or else.  In today’s world, however, these offensive words are commonly spoken amongst teenagers and adults – and sadly – even children. Yet, as offensive as these words are to us, there is a word that offends God even more – and that word is “can’t”.

The word “can’t” is a short form of the word “cannot”, which means that it is not possible for something to be done or made use of in a particular way; not able; not likely; not allowed; not acceptable; or not attainable.  The word carries a negative response and is par with the word “doubt”, while the word “can” has a positive connotation and is likened to the word “faith”.

God is offended because we use doubt instead of faith to live by, even though Jesus died on the cross so that we CAN live in victory. As Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him”.8434502461_07aca4d033_n

Jesus defeated the meaning of the word “can’t” on the cross when He bore our sins and became a living sacrifice for us. He made it “possible” to be reunited with our Heavenly Father so that the impossible would become the possible for Christians. Matthew 19:26 says, “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

 

When Jesus walked this earth, He taught the people constantly about the necessity of faith, of acting in faith, of believing God’s Word in faith, of speaking in faith and of encouraging others in faith. He reprimanded many people for their lack of faith that filled them with doubt and caused them to speak negative words and live defeated lives.

631115301_0d78360698“Oh yea of little faith” was spoken many times by Jesus when the people told Him of things they could not do. But He never stopped there even though He was not pleased with them; He always told them what to do so that they could get positive results.  Even though He was often angered at their unbelief, He still worked with them and helped them. Why? Because Jesus was trying to explain to them that He was the Son of God, that He had power to defeat the word “can’t” and that all the people had to do was believe in His name.

The Bible is filled with positive inspirations for our lives, but the world we live in does not follow the Bible, and it has its own precepts of what things can and cannot be done. For example, when a person gets cancer they’re told they may need surgery, or should have chemotherapy or radiation – or that nothing can be done, sorry. But the Bible says in Isaiah 53:5 that “By His stripes we are healed”. All we have to do is believe it and act on it instead of listening to the world – and we would get that victory.

The world has its own standards for people, and because the people are adhering to these standards more than the Word of God, there is more bondage now throughout the world than ever before in history. We succumb to medical reports, to mental and emotional limitations with added stressors, and controlled skills and abilities as decided by the world.

The Bible warns us in Colossians 2:8 that we should not follow these influences. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.”

4668123355_e8fe03b41b_m

We need to get our focus back onto Jesus and into the Bible so we can learn to accept the concept that we “CAN” do things when we trust in God to help us. Nothing is impossible for God and through Jesus we have permission to learn His Word and live by His Word so that we can live our lives with hope and victory. As it says in Luke 1:37, “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

We have the victory over our problems when we trust in God to teach us. In the world we have to play by its rules and those who do are justified to say “can’t”, but Christians have been given the hope and the promise of victory through Christ and we are able to say “can”. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” …  1 Corinthians 15:57

When we depend on the world we are contingent to our own strengths and probabilities as we work within our own righteousness, but when we trust in the Lord we depend on HIS righteousness and HIS strength and HIS promises, as told to us in Philippians 3:9, “…. not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”

When we live through faith in the encompassment of Christ, we CAN do all things!

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” … Philippians 4:13.

8411659893_75ba2cb85f_m

18 May

What is Included in God’s Grace?

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

3147461049_35b009962d_mGrace and love work together since it was God’s love for us that sent Jesus to the cross so that we could attain grace and be forgiven for our sins and reunited with God. It is this grace that gives us freedom from the curse, but it is our commitment to God because of this grace that makes us Christians.

I recently read an article on grace written by David Ravenhill, a pastor and author with a vision for God’s people called, “Would You Recognize the Deception of Hyper-Grace?”. I was so encouraged with how clearly he explained grace that I realized I could not get his message across nearly as well, so I have copied it in its entirety for you to read. Please read his message and be blessed, and visit David Ravenhill for more inspirational messages.

###

Would You Recognize the Deception of Hyper-Grace? by David Ravenhill

Someone wisely stated, “The church has suffered more from her exponents than from her opponents.” This is certainly the case today, as we are seeing an onslaught of dangerous teaching sweeping through the body of Christ like never before. We have the graphic and prophetic picture of the serpent in Revelation pouring water like a river out of his mouth in order to sweep away the woman (Rev. 12:15-16). This, to me, speaks of the false river the enemy is attempting to use to deceive the church in these last days. Thank God that He has promised, “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him” (Is. 59:19, NKJV).5578273602_79073a7036_m

One of the enemy’s wiles is to take something that is inherently good and seek to make it appear better. The hyper-grace message is a prime example of this. What is more amazing than grace? Nothing sets Christianity apart more than the message of grace. None of us would ever know our magnificent Savior and Lord without His redeeming, reconciling grace. There is no sect, cult or religion that has any doctrine comparable to it. Grace is found in Christ alone!

Little wonder, then, that the enemy has sought to improve on this glorious message by appearing to make it even more glorious, while at the same time lacing it with his deadly poison of deception and distortion.

Consider how you would respond to a message exhorting you to guard your mind, stay sober, be obedient, don’t be conformed to your former lusts, be holy, conduct yourself in fear, obey the Word and put aside all malice, guile and hypocrisy? What if the message went on to tell you to love and read God’s Word, grow up, tell others about God’s goodness, avoid fleshly lusts, do good deeds, do right, don’t speak about evil, be zealous for what is good and sanctify Christ as Lord?

Many within the body of Christ today would cry out against such a message, claiming it to be nothing more than a religious spirit or legalism or even fleshly works. Grace, we are told, frees you from all these works and liberates you so that you are no longer under any obligation of any kind. Grace, they say, is the gift that comes to us with no strings attached. But is that really the message of grace? Has the enemy blinded our eyes through super-sizing the true message of grace—and thereby distorting it?

It may surprise you to know that all the exhortations I’ve listed above were taken directly from Peter’s first epistle. Now, here is a most amazing truth: Peter tells us in the closing verses of his epistle, “I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” (1 Pet. 5:12, NASB, emphasis added).

Here we have one of the most complete and comprehensive revelations on true grace to be found in the New Testament. Yes, grace is totally and irrevocably free, and it provides us with God’s power to change us. That was its original intent. Paul, in his letter to Titus, explains it this way: “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age” (Titus 2:11-12, emphasis added).

Peter and Paul saw the Lord, who is the only true embodiment of grace and truth. If anyone had a correct revelation and understanding of grace, these two men certainly did.

Paul, you recall, had to correct the Romans on their tendency to abuse grace by continuing in sin. This abuse of grace has now raised its head again and is being taught in ever-widening circles within the church. Those proponents of the hyper-grace message will tell you that since your sins past, present and future have all been forgiven, there is no longer any need of repentance for the believer. Repentance, they claim, is the acknowledgment of a sin that has already been forgiven. Why put back in the ledger what has already been erased? So the reasoning goes.

But is this really sound biblical doctrine? Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, scolded them for not dealing with the blatant sin of a brother who was sexually involved with his father’s wife. The Corinthians took to heart what Paul wrote. Then in his second letter, he commended them for their godly sorrow that brought them to a place of repentance (2 Cor. 7:9-10). He mentions repentance twice within two verses. If we did follow this erroneous concept of grace, then why was this sexual pervert disciplined in the first place, if his sin was already forgiven? Why punish him for something that is already under the blood? Jesus obviously didn’t consider this to be the case when He admonished five out of the seven churches in Revelation to repent.

2643148122_ae6721809e_mFinally, as I have said many times, if we say that repentance is no longer necessary because all sin has already been forgiven, then why do we need to repent the first time in order to be saved? There is the belief by some that since all sin has been atoned for, all are saved but just don’t know it. This is the old but still very much alive false doctrine of universalism or ultimate reconciliation.

Jude was greatly disturbed by these errors in his day and tells us, “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Why? Because there were those within the church who were distorting the grace of God and turning it into licentiousness. This, I believe, was also the subtle teaching of Jezebel in the church of Thyatira. I don’t personally believe she was openly teaching that it was OK to engage in sexual immorality, but rather that the fruit of her distorted message led to this type of activity.

This is also my great fear regarding the hyper-grace message. While I sincerely believe that many advocates of the hyper-grace message firmly believe they are proclaiming a fresh revelation of grace, I truly believe the fruit of their teaching will instead bring disgrace to the very God of grace they seek to magnify.

I can only plead with those who are caught up in this false teaching to re-examine their beliefs in the light of God’s Word rather than get carried along by the latest trend being taught by a few popular and flamboyant pied pipers. If the fruit of this teaching does not produce a longing after God and a desire to be like Him, then we should avoid it like the plague. Grace enables us to live and walk in victory over sin, the flesh and the devil. Anything less is not the true grace of God.

###

untitledDavid and Nancy Ravenhill have a rich history in ministry. David worked with David Wilkerson’s first Teen Challenge Center in New York City, Youth With a Mission, and pastored one of the largest churches in New Zealand. He is now a full-time itinerant minister and author of five books, including Blood Bought.

 

6 May

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

2483275767_b69f704a69_mWith Mother’s Day quickly approaching, many of us are thinking of our mothers and what they mean to us. Some of us still have the privilege of being able to hug our mother and wish her a happy day, while others of us have to hold fast to cherished memories as we dedicate this day to our special mom.

The Bible makes many references to mothers and the Lord says in Proverbs 1:8 that mothers teach us God’s law and it also says in Proverbs 29:15 that mothers are disciplinarians who instruct us in life and teach us right from wrong. In Isaiah 63:13 we learn that mothers are comforters, and in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 we know that mothers are filled with love for us. Luke 18:20 says that mothers are deserving of honor.

Many of us take our mothers for granted and just assume that they’ll always be there for us. 4701911204_6fda84b3bb_mWhen we’re having a bad day we direct our frustration onto them, and they sometimes become our personal scapegoats for our own sorrows. But they are forgiving and are filled with compassion for us, and we don’t see that we have hurt them and that they ache for us more than anyone else could.

We should never direct our anger or disappointments at them when life has been unkind to us because they don’t deserve the disrespect or the pain that comes from it. (Deuteronomy 27:16) Instead, we should honor our mothers and we should tell them just how much we love them – and not just because it’s Mother’s Day, but because we mean it.

2036812205_3cadfdfc2e_m

I wrote a poem to my mother many years ago, and although she never lived to read it I’ll share it with you so that you can know that I had a wonderful, loving mother who helped to mold me into the person I am today. And perhaps in the words you’ll see the love you have for your own mother and realize how blessed you are because of her.

Dedication to Mom

I will always remember the love of my mom

Whose faith gave me hope for tomorrow.

She sacrificed her goals and pleasures

So mine would be free, void of sorrow.

I will always be proud to call her my mom

Whose virtues made her top of the chart.

She had nothing material to pass down to me

But her love is etched deep in my heart.

I will always cherish the work of my mom

Whose hands were worn and disgraced.

She worked day and night to build our home

But there was pride to be seen on her face.

I will always humble at the dress of my mom

Whose clothing was a worn scarcity.

Yet each curl of her hair was perfectly formed

And her walk was sure and with dignity.

I will always respect the life of my mom

Whose reflections were never her own.

She looked to God in her hour of despair

And in His mercy, He took her Home.

“Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise…”  … Ephesians 6:2

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!3519046630_0dc762934b_m

23 Apr

What is faith…….really?

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

7762958226_2600ba72cc_mMost Christians know the scripture at Hebrews 11:1 that says “faith is the substance of things hoped for”. We know it’s the energy or the confidence to believe God for something… but what is faith really?

Jesus talks a lot about faith and He tells us what we can accomplish with it and the fact that faith is what Christianity is all about. We realize that we need to get the scriptures down into our heart to be able to believe them, and so we study them to learn about faith. We write them out and quote them over and over so that they come to our thoughts constantly and we feel great because we have learned this. And this is good because we’re told to “study” the Word.

But how do we know when it’s time to step out and use our faith? How do we know if we really believe what we’ve learned or if we just have a really good memory? When does this study of faith actually become real to us so we can act on it?

There are some analogies that most of us can relate to and that will give us a better understanding of what faith is, where our faith is – and whether or need we need to work on it some more.372953580_da929b5132_m

When we board an elevator, most of us just wait for it to reach our designated floor. We look around and notice that the guy beside us has no idea how to match his tie with his shirt, and the woman ahead of her missed combing the back of her hair. We watch people get on and off without any hesitation, get a heart flutter when Mr. Handsome boards, and then eventually we get off. We had no worries or issues with the elevator. We didn’t fret that it might crash down or that we might get stuck in it with a bunch of people who all look somewhat suspicious.

We had complete confidence and faith in the performance of the elevator. We didn’t have to quote positive sayings or pray out loud or have a panic attack while hoping that we got to our floor in one piece. We had “faith” in the elevator and in its performance without any doubts at all. We didn’t hesitate to use its service or question its abilities.  Why? Because we had faith in the elevator.

When we went out for supper at our favorite restaurant, we sat down and ordered our meal and never worried that the food might contain some kind of contaminant, or that there might be bugs in the kitchen or that the chefs who prepared it were sick and had sneezed all over the food. We went there because we had complete confidence in its ability to prepare the meal that we expected, and we ate the food and enjoyed it without worry. We never questioned the quality or the performance of the food because we had complete confidence that what we were eating was good. Why? Because we had faith in the restaurant.

5684720360_78550e1bc9_m

When we were paying for our groceries, after the shock of it costing more than we’d expected, we opened our wallet and handed the cashier the money without even thinking that our bills might be counterfeit, or that they were worthless. She told us how much we owed and we gave her the money with complete confidence and knew that the groceries were ours. Why? Because we had faith in the money.

 

4586022965_49c809151d_m

When we get sick, we visit our medical doctor and trust that he knows what he’s talking about and we accept the prescription he gives us and we take the medication obediently. We don’t question what’s in the stuff we’re taking or that we might have a reaction to it. We just take it and wait for it to do its thing, and as we begin to feel better we give God thanks for our health.  Why? Because we have faith in our doctor.

But what if we didn’t go to the doctor and instead decided to stand on the scripture in Isaiah 53:5, “By His stripes I am healed”, and then ate only healthy, detoxifying foods to clean our body and rid it of the germs? Could we do that? Do we have faith? Could we believe that God DID heal us and that by flushing out the germs our body would line up to the healing? If we hesitate or if we do it and worry the whole time that it’s not working – then this is NOT faith because we don’t believe it or trust it.

If we had faith – even as much as a tiny grain of mustard seed – we could envision the scripture and see Christ on the cross, and we would know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we really do believe it – that we really do have the faith to receive the healing.

If we attempt to be healed through quoting scriptures while we continue to suffer and yet quietly wonder about it or question it – or doubt it – then we have to realize that we do NOT have enough faith at this point. If we’re nervous at all about it then we do NOT have the faith. We may have the understanding that faith works and that faith IS the answer, but we have not yet got to that point. So what do we do?

2818333115_cc4291236f_m

We study, pray, worship and thank God for His Son and for giving us His Word so that we can know Him. As our knowledge and our understanding of Jesus grows, so does our relationship with Him – and so does our love for Him AND SO DOES OUR FAITH IN HIM. Our eyes will be opened and our hearts will be renewed and the faith that we strive for will grow until we CAN stand on the scriptures and trust God totally to do the things He has promised us.

????????????????????????***I wrote a book called, Let Faith Arise! and it’s a devotional book filled with messages on faith that were inspired by God. I wrote these during my battle with cancer last year, and through prayer and praise and with a hunger for the faith to believe God for my healing, my faith grew and I was healed. I wrote this book to help others understand what faith is, how to get it and how to apply it to their lives. Please check out my website to see how you can get a copy of Let Faith Arise!

Available at Amazon.com and West Bow Press, and for the next week I am giving FREE e-book copies at Smashwords.

 

“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.”

… Matthew 21:21

This is faith……really.

 

 

15 Apr

Can We Earn God’s Forgiveness?

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

6145488503_a72223f8d7_mMany religions will have us believe that we can “earn” God’s forgiveness through works – give financial aid, support those who come to us for help, and pray for those in need. And these good deeds for this purpose should stay with that religion because it is NOT a prerequisite from the Lord for forgiveness, and nowhere in the Bible will you ever read that you have to earn His forgiveness or that it’s even possible to try.

We cannot “earn” forgiveness from God because He is Holy and perfect and there is no one equal to Him. We are filled with sin from conception and were separated from God because of that sin. If we could earn forgiveness then that would make us par with God without a clean heart, and Christ’s mission to the cross would be for nothing.

Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”8125649464_d312d25326_m

What does that mean? It means that no matter how much He loves us, we will NEVER be holy enough on our own merits to come into His presence. Why? Because we are filled with sin – a sin that was inherited to us by our earthy parents that started with Adam and Eve. God will not allow sin to come into his presence and that’s why He had to evict Adam and Eve from the Garden when they sinned.

The only way to receive God’s forgiveness – aka God’s grace, God’s inheritance, God’s blessings – is through repentance. We must come to God with a heart that cries out for Him; with a heart that wants to be like His; with a heart that wants to be able to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30).

We need to have a humble heart that repents for the sin that’s in us. But it’s not our fault we have sin, so why do we need to repent of it? Because with a humble heart comes the ability to know that we have to get the sin off of us in order to come into God’s presence. We realize that this inherited sin will keep us away from God and will eventually send us right to hell – where all sin has to go in the end.

5708023188_571740d2e4_mWe must come to the cross and accept the sacrifice that Jesus gave when He was crucified on that cross. Jesus was perfect and without sin because His father was God, not man. He went to the cross and died even though there was no sin in Him, and even though there was no legal reason for Him to be crucified. So why did He die on the cross then? So that He could take on ALL of OUR SIN, and with that sin He was sent down into the pits of hell where all sin goes. But, Jesus didn’t stay there. He dropped that sin there and once He was free of it He rose again, Holy and pure because He was once again filled with God’s spirit. And we were freed of that inherited sin.

When we accept this sacrifice that He made for us, then we will be able to accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. We can ask Him to wash us and cleanse us and make us whole as our hearts desire to be with Him, and in doing this God will look at each of us and forgive us or pardon us. And we will no longer belong to the world that is yet to be judged. We will belong to Him.

When Jesus rose He went to Heaven to be with God our Father. He is our example, our leader, and if we accept what He did for2245700673_f8643977ee_m us, we too will rise to be with God our Father when we leave this world. But while we’re here, we are free of the inherited sin and Jesus gives us HIS spirit so that we can talk to God, praise God, worship God, walk with God and become His faithful child.

We have done nothing to earn His forgiveness and we can never ever do anything to even think that we could come close to earning it. The salvation that Jesus gave us is the ONLY way to get God’s forgiveness. Jesus says in John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” That pasture is Heaven and Jesus is the ONLY way to get there.

We are not perfect and we are not better than anyone else. We are forgiven through God’s grace – and that grace is His Son, Jesus. And we must never think that there is any other way to get God’s forgiveness except through the cross.

3147461049_35b009962d_m

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”… John 3:16

Praise the Lord that through Him and the sacrifice He gave on the cross, we are forgiven. 

9 Apr

Let Faith Arise!

Posted by Ronnie Dauber in Posts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

2407960698_667f19de7b_mFaith is not a virtue that we are born with or that we just inherit one day. It is something that we have to seek out and work at to keep.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour we enter God’s world, and the hopes and dreams that it holds are endless. They bring joy and happiness to our soul. Salvation is the beginning of a new life, but it’s not a matter of once saved, always saved. It’s the beginning, and like anything else in life, the “beginning” is the start and it has a following.

God gave us that first seed of faith to get saved – not a lot, just enough to believe and accept His Son, Jesus, as our Saviour. At this point we realize that God is not just a figment of someone’s imagination, but that He IS real, that He IS the creator of the universe and the God OF that universe. We realize that we are now part of this big, new world and it feels great. We belong to God, and Jesus has become our friend.

But now we need to know more about God so that we can have a relationship with Him. So much of the Old Testament seems to set Him out as being a cold, harsh ruler with no heart for the people, but that is the furthest thing from the truth. John 3:16 says that God loves us so much that He sent His OWN Son to take on OUR sins and then as a punishment, He died on the cross for us and took our sins to hell.7078735877_17b13be33d_m

There is so much about God that we don’t know, so it becomes very difficult for us to be able to love someone who we don’t know and who we don’t even know anything about. But that seed of faith that He gave us to get saved can grow into a wealth of knowledge about Him, and to the point where we truly love Him with all our heart.

How do we grow that seed of faith?

The Bible says in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. The Bible and all its scriptures were written by men BUT under the anointing and inspiration of God. So every word in this Bible has been given by God to us as our book of instruction – our manual for living. There is no other way to learn about God.

Our testimonies of God’s intervention in our lives are a witness that proves the Word of God. They aren’t new and they aren’t unique to only us. They are testimonies and these testimonies support what God has told us in the Bible, and they inspire those around us and encourage them to get into the Bible and study it so they too, can know God.

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” … 2 Timothy 2:15.

Many Christians have written books on faith, and some of these books have been a real blessing, but they do NOT replace the Bible. They should ALL refer back to the Bible, edify the Bible, give glory to God and represent Jesus. They should inspire us and encourage us to get into the Bible and study it ourselves.

When I was battling cancer in 2011 I thought I had the faith to fight it on my own, but when the doctor spoke those terrifying words of death to me, I knew that I needed to dig deep and meditate on His Word and not stop until it became a reality to me.

I did two things: I went to some of my friends who I knew were prayer warriors and I asked them to pray for me, that my faith would be made strong. And then I studied the Bible and prayed and studied and praised the Lord with my whole heart until I began to see the hope and reality of the cross.3493202466_13a430ed0e_t

And as that reality began to set in, so did the fear from the battle, and so I wrote down the messages that I got from the scriptures I read, and then I read them over and over until they became real and my faith began to grow. I reached the point where I truly trusted God with my life and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was healed. And that’s when God led me to my healing.

Faith doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t come because we quote scriptures. It doesn’t happen because someone has prayed over us and says it will happen. It’s not magic. There is no angel dust.

Faith is believing with all our heart and not allowing doubt to set in. It’s an “either/or” situation; either you believe or you don’t; either you accept God’s Word or you don’t; either you receive the blessings or you don’t.

God’s Word is for everyone, but if we don’t believe it then we miss out. Someone can tell us that they have a million dollars in the bank for us and all we have to do is go and get it, but if we don’t believe it’s true, then we won’t act on it and we will miss out on the million dollars. And it’s the same concept for the Bible.

When we study the Bible, we will learn about God, about Jesus, about His Spirit, and about who we are in Christ. And as we study and pray and praise the Lord, our faith grows and grows. We are able to stand on His Word and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it IS true and we will be able to live the life of victory that He has given us.

Does this mean that life will always be a bed roses after that? No, not at all. We live in this world and we will experience all the elements and things that comes with it, BUT we will know God and He will show us how to overcome them all.

????????????????????????When I was healed from the cancer, I took all those messages and formatted them into a devotional book called, Let Faith Arise!. I wanted to share with others how to get faith, how to develop faith and how to act in faith. This book is NOT about me; it’s about learning how to get faith so that YOU can know God and live the life that He’s given you.

Let Faith Arise! is MY testimony that proves that God’s Word is true. He loves us so much, and He hurts when we hurt and He laughs when we laugh. He is our Father, and when we know Him, we are able to truly say “Praise the Lord” and mean it, and we will see that Jesus is not only our Lord, but He is our friend, as well.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” … Hebrews 11:1.

 

 

« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 5,840 other followers

%d bloggers like this: