Later that
evening after returning from a family outing Roscoe goes in to say good night
to Ree-Ree who asks if she can lead the prayer, and this is what she prayed: “Dear Jesus, thank you for the best family in
the whole world especially my Pappa. Please
let him make the same money so we can go to Chuck E. Cheese and stuff and he
can still be home with our family. In
Jesus name, Amen. Tears formed in
Roscoe’s eyes as he said “Amen”, kissed his daughter good night and walked out of
the room. The next morning, Ree-Ree could
hardly contain the excitement because she knew Jesus was going to let Pappa
keep the money and be home with them. Her siblings and Rosario laughed at her innocence, which she seemed
completely oblivious to. Ree-Ree had a
great day at school, she earned more points than usual, participated in class
discussion, volunteered to help clean up, etc.
Ms. Abbott, could hardly believe her eyes. When she asked Ree-Ree why she was so excited, she
said, “Because Jesus is going to let my Pappa keep the same money and be home
with us.” Ms. Abbott, a semi-agnostic,
chuckled and dismissed Ree-Ree’s comments.
When Roscoe
got home that night, Ree-Ree ran to her Pappa and jumped into his arms. Roscoe hugged his daughter and carried her in the
house. He told Rosario to put the food away
and save it for tomorrow because they were going out to dinner to
celebrate. His supervisor didn’t agree
to the transfer, but he did agree to allow him to telecommute four days a week
and he would keep the same rate of pay.
Ree-Ree looked at her siblings and said: “See, I told you Pappa was gonna
keep the same money and be home with us.”
How many of you have ever
inspected the kitchen and interviewed the Chef before eating at a restaurant? How many of you ate the food even though you
had no clue who cooked it?
All of us have some
measure of “blind” faith, in fact, it’s like second nature for us not to think about
some of the things that we do that require faith. Pulling a chair out and sitting down; taking
prescribed medication assuming it will cure us because the doctor said it would;
boarding an airplane without seeing the pilot or knowing if they are even
qualified to fly the plane; assume we won’t get hit if we stay in the crosswalk,
etc. We all have faith on some level.
Faith (Webster): confidence or trust in a
person or thing; belief that is not based on proof
·
Now we have confidence in God through Christ. 2 Corinthians 3:4 (NET)
·
In whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him
(Jesus Christ). Ephesians 3:12 (NET)
· Be strong and confident all you who wait on The
Lord. Psalm 31:24 (NET)
Faith (Bible): Hope
· Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV): Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen.
· Romans 8:24-25 (CEB): We were saved in
hope. If we see what we hope for, that
isn't hope. Who hopes for what they
already see? But if we hope for what we
don't see, we wait for it with patience.
Victory Nugget: Study the following chapters this week to get
a better understanding of faith
· Romans 4 (Abraham's faith journey) and
· Hebrews 11 (Description of faith and the acts of faith by God's
people
It is important to pray, which allows us to
communicate with God but it is just as important to read/study God's word (aka
our Life Manual/Instructional Book/Resource).
However, if we do not have faith to believe what we asked God for and/or
what we read about can be applicable to us, it is a waste of oxygen and brain
power. Simply put the Bible, Prayer and
Faith go hand in hand, you must have all three.
Do we need faith?
· Hebrews 11:6: Without faith
it isn't possible to please God. Those who come to God must believe that he
exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to him
How do we obtain faith? You can't go to
Wal-Mart and get a "roll-back" special, go to Target and put five on
it or call Grandma and ask if you can borrow some. We obtain faith by:
Asking: Whoever
asks shouldn't hesitate. They should ask
in faith, without doubting, Whoever
doubts is like the surf of the sea, tossed and turned by the wind. People like that should never imagine that
they will receive anything from The Lord.
They are double-minded, unstable in all their ways. James 1:6-8 (CEB)
Hearing: So
faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the word
of Christ. Romans 10:17 (NIRV)
The more you hear the
Word of God whether it is a Sunday morning message; someone teaching a Bible
Class, 6:00 am prayer; the audio bible; YouTube, etc. the more your faith will
increase. That is why so many of you
continue to show up on the Victory Call.
Your faith is being increased, otherwise you wouldn’t bother. But I have a secret for you. Do you want to know what it is? Are you sure?
When you read the Word of
God (your Life Manual) out loud, as it pertains to scriptures that are
encouraging, uplifting and/or address your particular situation, you are
increasing your faith. No lie. Let’s look at Romans 10:17 again:
·
So faith comes from hearing the message. And
the message that is heard is the word of Christ.
When you speak the Word
of God back to Him, it activates something in the spiritual realm (remember,
God is a spirit). In essence you are
reminding God of His Word, not because He forgot, but because you remembered
and you are taking action.
·
As the lifeless body is dead, so
faith without actions is dead.
James 2:26 (CEB)
The more knowledge you have about God (through
His Word -- your Life Manual); the more confidence you will have to believe God
for ________ (you fill in the blank)
In His Humble Excellence
Tania
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