Tuesday, July 30, 2019

By Grace through Faith: The Word of Faith

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

Therefore it is of faith that it might be by Grace; Romans 4:16a KJV




We've been in a study examining what it means to walk in New Covenant Faith. So far we've seen what Faith is and how Faith comes to us. We've seen how to grow in Faith. 

 When it comes to Faith and how it comes we must not make the assumption that tradition does that Faith comes through hard times or suffering. The truth is as we saw in our previous study on suffering, we live in a fallen world. Troubles exist because of it, but those troubles don't bring you Faith, feeding on God's Word does. 

 Also, we have seen what Faith is, let's briefly address what Faith isn't. Faith is not a ticket to Utopia. That troubles no longer exist. That you will never have any pressures in this world. We live in a fallen world but Faith assures us of the victory. Faith isn't foolish actions, Faith is trusting in God and what He has said in the Word and what Jesus accomplished in the Finished Work.

 Now that we know what Faith is, and how it comes, what do we with it once we have it? How do we use it or release it? Is Faith passive? Is Faith stagnate? Here's a good question, after salvation, or receiving the New Birth, is Faith even necessary? 

the Word of Faith

 Faith is an essential part of the Christian life. Just as Grace is not simply an entry-level truth neither is Faith. Grace is the Gospel. Grace is always a vital part of life in Christ, but so also is Faith. For we must continually believe what He has done for us to walk in them and to reign over the lies of the enemy, the world system, and the religious traditions of man. 

 How then do we exercise Faith? What do we do with Faith once we have it? How do we release our Faith? In the simplest terms, Faith is believing in your heart and speaking out with your mouth. 

Look at Jesus' words in Mark 11. Essentially Jesus said this. Faith believes and speaks forth. It doesn't vacillate between believing God and doubting Him, walking in unbelief. Faith doesn't keep changing its mind. 

 When the storms arise, Faith doesn't wring its hands in anxiety. It isn't crying out what are we going to do? Where is our hope or help? When the circumstances don't seem to agree with what God said, Faith doesn't change its mind. It doesn't agree with what it looks like. Faith stays steady, unmoving, unchanging, it clings like a bulldog to what God our Good Father said and has done in Jesus' Finished Work.

 Over the last few centuries, it seems unbelief, doubt, and skepticism are the badges proudly worn by some in the Body of Christ, especially in the West. How do I know this? Look at the reactionary theology that is so prevalent in the modern Church. 

 I am not even speaking of the supernatural power of the Lord Jesus. Look at how so many react to the Gospel of Grace. We see some who've received Jesus. Yet, through immaturity, not having their minds fully renewed, not understanding what it means to be a new creation, not fully grasping what it means to be the righteousness of God, they get into sin or wrong living, poor choices and the like. The result? So many in the Church react to what they see with their natural eyes instead of looking with the eyes of Faith. 

 Doubt and unbelief say, "surely God is angry with that one, look how he lives."" Surely, God is going to withhold His love and Favor and blessings and goodness." "It is certain that that one has lost their salvation." Instead of speaking God's Word about the promises of the eternal security of the believer, some are speaking what they see with their eyes. 

 No, Faith sees what God said and agrees with that and believes that and speaks that out. Again, Faith is believing in the heart and speaking with the mouth. Some under Grace, who are shrouded by a subtle form of unbelief, deny Jesus' words in Mark as being for the Church because Jesus gave the Old Covenant stipulation of forgiveness in the same passage. They say that passage isn't speaking of New Covenant Faith, that Faith doesn't exist for all areas of life.

 We have to rightly divide Jesus' words. Sometimes He spoke Law to the Hebrews but sometimes He spoke alluding of the New Covenant to come. Mark 11, the principals of Faith, believing and speaking are repeated in the New twice by Paul. So these Faith truths are universal truths that have always existed.

13 We have the same spirit of faith. As it is written, “I believed, and therefore I have spoken.”So we also believe and therefore speak, 2 Corinthians 4:13 MEV

 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”This is the word of faith that we preach: that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, 10 for with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10:8-10 MEV

We can clearly see God is trying to get our attention. Faith comes by hearing and is released by believing in the heart, without doubting, and speaking forth with our mouth. So what does this look like? 

 When you hear the Good News of Grace and know you were made righteous when you believed, then when thoughts come disagreeing with what Jesus did, you can reject those thoughts, taking them captive and confessing who you are. When you blow it or are overcoming addictions and accusation arises, you can speak forth Faith. You can profess, I may not look righteous or holy but God declared me righteous, and the Finished Work made me holy. therefore I am the righteousness of God and have been made holy once for all time. When you wake up and some days you just don't feel saved, or accepted or approved. You can shake those feelings off declaring I am a new creation in Christ, I am accepted in the beloved, I am my Father's delight! 

 In summation, the Word of Faith is a believing and speaking Faith. It is not a passive Faith. It is not a doubting and skeptical way of seeing life. Faith sees, Faith believes and Faith speaks. Faith brings us to a victorious triumphant way of living. Faith isn't moved by feelings or what it looks like. Faith sees what Jesus accomplished in the Finished Work, Faith hears what God said, Faith believes what Jesus did and the promises God made because of it. Faith speaks forth what it believes. Have Faith in God!
Image by Jeff Jacobs from Pixabay

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

By Grace through Faith: Got Faith?


For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

Therefore it is of faith that it might be by Grace; Romans 4:16a KJV




We've begun a new study of walking by New Covenant Faith. In our last study, we defined what Faith actually is despite how the traditional religious-minded or the unlearned define it. We've seen that Faith is not "blind". That it's not directionless or somehow not focused on specifics. 

 Faith is being fully persuaded by unseen evidence. That evidence is what the Finished Work procured for us, and what God said to us because of the Finished Work. Faith cannot exist where the will of God is not known. That's why God in His infinite Goodness has let us know what His will is.

What is His will?

When it comes to God's will, so many believers and Christian leaders seem almost bewildered, baffled and bemused. Like God's will is the "holy grail" and so few ever find it. That God's will is some magnificent mystery and oh joy to you if you actually discern it or discover it.

 How so many discern God's will is this. Let's pray to God to do something. Let's ask God for something. Well, if it happens it must have been God's will. If it didn't happen or come to pass? Must not have been His will. Listen, brothers and sisters, God's will is not a shot in the dark. It is not some mystery to be solved. Paul has told us this.
having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, Ephesians 1:9 NKJV

 Here is a perfect illustration of knowing God's will. Suppose you enter a restaurant that you've never been to. Suppose the sign says serving a variety of food. You are seated, with no menu in sight, then the server comes to take you order and you say ok can I have a pizza? What if their response was we don't have pizza, only vegetarian, seafood, steaks, and ribs? More than likely your response would be something like well I didn't see any menu so I wasn't sure what you served. The point is that the establishment must provide you with the pertinent information for you to be able to make your selection. 

 So it is with God. God so much as tells us this in 1 John. For you to know what to order at a restaurant, they give you a menu. They inform you of what's available. God is just and righteous, therefore He must also inform us of His will in order for us to ask in Faith. So what is His will? His will is His Word. If you want to know what God's will is, look at His Word, what He said. What He confirmed with His promises. What we see Jesus accomplished in the Finished Work.

 Having established that His Word is His will and we, therefore, can know His will, how then does Faith come? How do we know we have Faith? God's Word gives us insight into this.
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 NKJV

Got Faith?

  Faith comes by hearing God's Word. It comes from hearing the Word spoken, the Word of God preached in its fullness. It comes by hearing yourself speak His Word. When we speak God's Word, our minds get renewed to the truth of God instead of the lies of the enemy and this world system. 

 Some may be saying well that's great brother,  but I don't think I have any Faith. Not so, for the Word tells us otherwise. The Word declared all believers have been given the same measure of Faith. We all start with the same amount of Faith. It is up to us to grow in our Faith. There are no special believers or ones God loves more than you. We have Faith and can grow that Faith as we will. We even see Paul speak of exceedingly growing Faith.

God has a simple way to grow in Faith. Simply feeding on His Word will bring growth and stronger Faith. Some may be thinking, ok Faith comes by hearing but what about Hebrews where it says the Word spoke didn't profit them, not being mixed with Faith in them that heard? Glad you brought this up. 

 The Word won't bring Faith if the hearer of the Word denies the Word or seeks to misapply the Word. Hebrews said the Gospel wasn't received by the hearers. Why? Because they couldn't accept the Good News of God's Grace. 

 Misguided men who hear Ephesians 5, about husbands and wives and take that passage as an excuse to dominate and exercise control over their wife are not acting in Faith. They are misapplying God's Word. When religious traditional-minded,  hear the Word on the Gifts of the Spirit, they don't mix Faith with what they hear for they deny that aspect of God's Word for today. 

 When the hearer of the Word looks to outward circumstances or their experiences, they aren't receiving the Word, thus Faith can't come. God's Word is true, not because we experience it. God's Word is true because God said it. Because it is the truth, we, therefore, should experience it. 

 Want to have exceedingly growing Faith? Then feed on God's Word. It's about having more Word in you than World. Want to grow strong in your new identity? Feed more on God's Word about who you are in Christ. Want to be strong in Grace? Than feed on God's Word about Jesus and His Finished Work. Want to be strong in the things of the Holy Spirit? Feed on God's Word concerning the Gifts and moving of the Spirit. Want to be strong in healing? Feed on God's Word about healing and wholeness. 

 In summation, do you have Faith? If you've received Jesus then you absolutely do. Remember there are no special believers. There are no Christians God loves more than others. He hasn't given more Faith in someone than He has given you. Faith is a level playing field. Remember it is by Faith so it can be by Grace. Simply feeding on God's Word causes Faith in your heart to grow and produce victory in all areas of life. God is for us not against us. 
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

By Grace Through Faith: What is Faith?

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8 NKJV

16 Therefore it is of Faith that it might be by Grace Romans 4:16a KJV



We are beginning a new study on New Covenant Faith. Faith is often misunderstood in some Christian circles. When one says Faith they mistakenly think of the denomination one is a part of. Are you of the Baptist faith? Are you of the Lutheran faith? Are you of the Methodist faith? That is not what Faith is.

 Faith is also often mistakenly referred to as blind faith. That Faith simply blindly trusts in something without any evidence of whatsoever. That it trusts without knowledge. Again this is a wrong concept about Faith. Let's explore the truth about Faith. 

What Faith Is...

What is Faith? It's not blind trust. It is not someone's religious practices. It is not a spiritual detecter revealing "superior" and "inferior" Christians. It is also not someone who is "wishing and a hoping" for some positive turn out in the circumstances of their life. 

 New Covenant Faith is determined. It is specific. It isn't sporadic in its focus. It is single-minded. It is purposed and unwavering and unswayed. How do we define Faith? The Amplified in my view gives the absolute best definition of Faith.


11 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. Hebrews 11:1 AMP

  Let this definition sink in, get rooted deeply in your spirit. Faith is the assurance that what we hope will come to pass. Faith gives substance to hope. Hope is positive expectation based on what Jesus, God's Grace made available, what God promises we have because of Jesus. 


 Faith is the confirmation of the promise of God. Faith is the title deed. This is an awesome truth. In this world, we who are old enough will understand a title deed. Each nation runs a little differently but this principal of the title deed is the same the world around. 

 If one buys a car from someone, and they get the title deed that paper is proof enough that they have a car. They can tell their friends look I have a new car. They make look upon that one in bewilderment, saying we don't see a car. All that person need do is show them the title deed. See I have a car, it's mine, you may not see it but I have a car this deed is proof enough.

 Maybe you'd say I have never bought a car or house this illustration is lost on me. Ok, I will make it even clearer. Faith is the confirmation. You bought that item online. Your friends may not see that item. All you need do is show them the confirmation number and they will know you do in fact have that item.

 Faith is our confirmation number that all God provided in the Finished Work is ours. Faith is the title deed, revealing to us when presently possess all Grace procured for us. Faith is being fully persuaded by unseen evidence in the spiritual realm. Faith is the conviction that it is settled in the Heavens, that what God said is ours because of the Cross is in truth fully ours. 

 So what is Faith? It is being fully persuaded by unseen evidence. It isn't blind. It isn't trusting without evidence. Faith perceives as real facts what is not revealed to our natural senses. As Paul said we walk by Faith not by sight. The evidence is revealed to us in the spiritual arena not this natural. God declared us righteous and holy once for all time. Yet we don't always look like it, but we aren't focused on the evidence we can see with our physical senses but with what we see with our spiritual sense, what God accomplished in the Finished Work.

 Again Faith is the belief of our hearts, our spirit man, not our heads, that is our mental assent, our intellectual thoughts. Some try to insinuate that Biblical Faith is mere mentally agreement with what the Bible says, not a heartfelt agreement. Look, Faith is of the heart, not our intellect, for there are truths in God that supersede the natural order and scientific fact. Disagree?

 Under the Old, God did many mighty miracles. The prophet Elisha operating in a manifestation of the Spirit caused an iron axe head to float in water. How many realize that iron doesn't float on top of the water? That is not something we can intellectually make sense of. That is a change in the natural order of things. Jesus, God in the flesh was conceived by the Spirit in Mary's womb. Scientific fact, it takes a fertilized egg for conception to occur. Yet Jesus was born of a virgin. That supersedes science fact.

 In summation, Faith is being fully persuaded that what Grace provides and what the Father promises because of the Finished Work we can reach out and take and receive. In order to walk in Faith, sometimes we have to turn off our minds and just do what God says to us. 
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Monday, July 8, 2019

Gifts of Grace: Are the 9 Charismatic/Sign Gifts still active today?

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 1 Corinthians 12:7 NKJV

He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Galatians 3:5 KJV

 When you think of Grace, have you ever thought about the Gifts Grace has provided? Throughout the New Covenant Paul speaks of gifts from God. We see Ministry giftings, we see spiritual giftings many scholars call the motivational gifts that all believers have. We also see the Charismatic Gifts mentioned, the nine manifestation gifts. 

 What are these manifestation Gifts you may ask? Allow the Spirit through Paul to answer;
for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 NKJV

 These are the powerful manifestations of the Spirit in our midst. The question many have is are these Gifts for today? Ministers of religious tradition attempt to convince us unequivocally that they have in fact ceased. That God gave us gifts but then took them back. 

That God is in Heaven and we are on our own down here until we get to Heaven. That God doesn't move in our lives in supernatural ways any longer. That believers in Christ cannot expect God's hand to move in their lives in healing, or prophetic words, or supplying provision. Now, of course, they say you can pray generally for God to bless you, but He is "sovereign" and whatever will be will be. God may be teaching you through hard times. Does this sound like Jesus, the Person of Grace?

 Whenever Jesus encountered lack, He brought provision. When He encountered sickness and disease He brought forth healing. When He encountered infirmity, He brought strength. When He encountered oppression He brought deliverance. When He encountered sin and condemnation, He brought forgiveness and mercy. Whenever He encountered brokenness He brought wholeness. The Good News is Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever! Jesus hasn't changed.

 So if Jesus is the same, has the Spirit and His operations in the Church somehow ceased because of the passage of time? Tradition says it was the Apostles who worked miracles and since they've passed on, hence the Gifts ceased. Is this correct?

 If so what do we do with Peter's own words? What am I referring to? You can see Peter's words in Acts completely destroy this narrative. Peter declared it wasn't his power that brought forth that miracle healing. If the miracle was simply because He was an Apostle that God healed the man why didn't he attribute that to the root cause? 

 Peter doesn't take any credit for the healing. He doesn't attribute his apostleship. He doesn't even take into account his personal holiness or goodness. He attributes God's goodness and the God kind of Faith in Jesus name with this miracle.

The problem with religion only attributing signs and wonders with apostleship is they omit the goodness of God. They are omitting the love of God. They are forsaking the mercy and compassion of our Good Father. Instead of God ministering life, healing and wholeness because He loves His creation, He is a cold diety merely endorsing the ministry of 12 men. He isn't concerned with afflictions humanity suffers. Love looking to alieve suffering isn't the heart behind miraculous healing, rather it's just God endorsing titles of a few men until the Bible can be fully written. 

One other point to ponder. Acts records that people other than the Apostles flowed in signs and wonders. Stephan was no Apostle, he was merely a Deacon, yet he was full of faith and flowed in signs and wonders. Look at Philip. He was an Evangelist. He was not an Apostle and he flowed in powerful signs and wonders. We still have Evangelists today, and Deacons, so why couldn't the Gifts still be active?

The Gifts haven't ceased But Faith for the Gifts have ceased

 If we go back to Peter's words, what other principle does he attribute that miraculous healing too? The authority of Jesus name, and Faith in that name. Yes, the Faith that comes through Him. Faith brought forth the sign and wonder. 

 Uncertain, doubtful, unconvinced and unbelieving prayer didn't bring about this miracle. The reason some like this idea of the Gifts ceasing, and that it was only through the original Apostles, that Gifts manifested because it gives them an opportunity to make excuse for their unbelief and lack of Faith. Though it is lack of Faith and the presence of unbelief, there is still hope.

 When we relinquish the traditions of men and listen to truth instead of tradition Faith comes. The cure for unbelief is no longer feeding on doubt and instead focusing on and feeding our spirit God's Word, seeing who Jesus is. It's believing Jesus is who He said is. This means not just seeing Jesus as Savior, but also as Healer, Deliverer, Provider, Baptizer in the Spirit, and Triumphant, Victorious King of Kings, the One who already soundly, perfectly defeated the enemy! 

 In Summation, have the Gifts ceased? Are they no longer active today? Is Jesus still who He said He is? Has the Spirit changed? Not one single passage in Scripture states these Gifts will not continue year after year. Not one passage states when the Bible is complete or the last Apostle dies these signs and wonders will cease to function. 

 These Gifts are also called the Charismatic Gifts. Charismata means Gifts of Grace. His Grace is definitely still active today. God's Love is still active today. God's Goodness is still active today. God's power has not waned or grown inactive. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. These Gifts have not ceased nor will they ever in the life of the Church.
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Tuesday, July 2, 2019

The Suffering Question: God Why? Trials...Tragedies...Trauma....Triumph!


 The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.
Nahum 1:7 NKJV
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. 
Psalm 107:1 NLT
The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 
Psalm 145:8-9 KJV
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Psalm 34:8 NKJV

We've been in an extended study examining God's Love, mercy, and all the time Goodness in light of human suffering and tragedy. We've looked closely at God's role in the adversity, difficulty, and distresses we've all experienced in some form or fashion living in this fallen world. We've explored extensively God's Word on this subject.

 In this series, we've seen God is always good no matter the circumstance. We've seen God post-Cross is not sending wrathful judgment on nations. We've seen the truth that God is not the author of our sickness or disease or our troubles. We've thoroughly examined Job and all the traditions birthed from it. 

 Today, I sense the leading to conclude this series by simply asking God why. More clearly stated, concluding this study by addressing the questioning of God many of us have done at some point in our walk with God. All of us have experienced things that we can't always understand. There are people who have gone through things and they can't make sense of it. What do we do in these times?

Don't run from God, don't quit talking with God, run to God!

 When trouble arises that's not the time to abandon our walk with Jesus. It's not the time to listen to the lies of traditional religion. It's not the time to forsake the assembly of the brothers and sisters in Christ. It's especially never the time to listen to the lies of the enemy the accuser. 

 Listen, when the enemy can't convince you of your unworthiness, or unrighteousness, when he can't push you into accepting his accusations about your standing with God, he will immediately attempt to persuade you to accept accusations about God. He begins to accuse God to you. He tries his hardest to get you to accept his lies about the Father. He impugns God's Goodness, His justice, His will for you. He tries to get you to question God's faithfulness toward you. 

 He works to get you to accept religious lies about God;
 "God's willing to heal some but not you."
 "God's goodness and mercy only go so far."
"God's putting this on you to punish you."
"God brought this in your life to better you if you resist it you're rebelling against God."

 Resist these tactics from the enemy. The Word promises when we resist the enemy he will flee. When the enemy comes in, like a flood the Spirit will lift up a standard against him. Rejoice the enemy is defeated.

Troubles of our own making

There are two aspects of this I want to address. First, if we are experiencing difficulties, sometimes we need to take a moment to see the source of the trouble. Sometimes just knowing the source affords us the opportunity to bring a quick end to the negative.

 For instance, take the financial arena, now this isn't about condemning anyone but just about covering all our bases when it comes to answering the suffering question. Again, look at the financial arena. If struggles of insufficiency plague you ensure you're not living beyond your means. Ensure you're using wisdom in finances. Sometimes we can make poor choices and then see the result. 

 Now this works the same in all areas of life. Our health, our employment, our relationships, etc. It's not about guilt and shame ridden self-introspection either. It's about ensuring there isn't something you may be doing that is the cause of the trouble and seeing if there are ways to rectify it.

 Now when it comes to troubles of our own making the other aspect is the reality of His great Grace. What can we expect from the troubles of our own making? That is what is God's response to us? Are His hands folded in disgust and disapproval? Does He say, "this is your fault, you made this mess, deal with it, I am not going to help you"? 

 No! God is a Good Father! He sought after Peter after he denied Christ. He declared David was a man after His own heart. He said Abraham was the friend of God. All these men were imperfect vessels. 

 No matter the cause, God is always willing and ready to turn it around for your good. He is always there to turn a mess into a message of hope and deliverance. He's even ready to turn your sin into a win, turning what was darkness to light bringing redemption and wholeness and effecting change to all. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble. 

 Some would read this and think I am saying God is ok with our sins and wicked deeds. That we should sin so Grace may abound. If you don't get accused of this then you aren't preaching the Gospel that Paul preached. What I am saying is God is amazing in His Grace that He turns around even the most wicked situation and redeems everyone involve. For instance, we've seen well-known people, who were involved in criminal activity, sang music that uplifted self and wickedness, those who performed in pornographic films later in life give their life to Christ and due to their former notoriety, they have a larger platform to share their testimony. God indeed turned their sin into a win!

In the middle of the mystery

 Now that we have settled the issue that God is good and only does good we can address some of the situations and circumstances many have gone through and they just can't seem to make any sense of it. These hard times create questions. They make us sometimes doubt God's goodness. 

 This is what I like to call living in the middle of the mystery. That there is a promise given, there is a response of belief yet the answer seems not to be manifesting. Do we conclude that God lied? Do we conclude God says one thing and reserves the right to do another?

 I won't accept that God is partially good. I won't accept that God says one thing and won't fulfill His Word. Before I continue, don't think I don't know what it's like living in the mystery. I can share this, my wife and I have wanted children for many years now. Yet, we have not seen this come to pass.

 We've conceived twice and in both cases, we lost the child due to ectopic or tubal pregnancy. Now as a believer in Jesus, the One who knows us before we were born, I believe life begins at conception. So yes those were two lives lost in the womb. Sadly, both of my wife's tubes were lost in the process. Now aside from a recreative miracle, we cannot conceive naturally. Again, so we know what it's like living in the mystery.

 My heart hurts sometimes when I think about having children, yet I have a peace that surpasses human understanding. Why? Because I know who Jesus is, this is Jesus;
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. Acts 10:38 NKJV
 Jesus is always good. I have a Father in Heaven who loves me. A Father that is good and only does good! That is my conviction, and I have seen His goodness over and over and over again in my life and in those around me.

 Ok, you may say, I get it God is good, but I am going through some really hard times. I can't see His goodness. What now? What do we do in the middle of the mystery? I am glad you asked.

 What do we do in the middle of this mystery? When I was going through the worst of it, we just went through this last December, I had the same reactions and many questions. The answer came as I was listening to a worship song.

 There was a line that spoke of being in the middle of the mystery. The answer went off in my spirit like a nuclear bomb! I saw it and it brought me so much joy and refreshing. I was renewed with this simple truth. That is we praise Him even more in the middle of the mystery.

 Singing His praises in the middle of the mess, in the middle of the trial, in the middle of the hard times brings supernatural peace and refreshing. So whatever you're going through, turn your eyes to Jesus. Put Him in remembrance. No matter how bad it seems, His goodness and Grace are greater. Raising a praise is your weapon, it's the solution.

 In summation, concluding this series, we know and understand God is always good. We know that He is the healer and the One who makes us whole. He is not the One bringing destruction. He is the One who brings life and turns our situation around. In the midst of the worst scenarios, let praise be your response. Let a melody of praise and worship be the weapon you raise against the enemy. The suffering question? Jesus is the answer! 
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