ROMANS 10:17

Faith in God and His Word operates on the same principles faith in anything else. Faith comes from the information you receive. Information can come to you through any of your five senses, or from your spirit.  When you decide to accept any information as worthy of being acted upon, it becomes part of your belief system. That is how you get faith. Please remember faith is a noun form and believe is the verb form of the same word. Each one of us chooses whether we will believe something, based on our evaluation of the evidence presented to us. No one was born with beliefs. Every belief you now have was acquired as a decision you made at some point in your life. You decided to believe what you now believe. Since every belief you have came as a result of a decision you made, every belief can also be changed by another decision. But because faith is always based on some evidence, we must have evidence that convinces us before we can change any belief. Life constantly presents us with evidence which forces us to make decisions, based on this question, "Is this evidence sufficient to accept as truth?" The primary evidence God has given us so we may have faith in Him is His Word. God is not a liar; He can be trusted. Whatever
God says, always comes to pass for he tells us that His word will not return to him void, It will do exactly what He said it would.  A literal translation of Romans 10:17 tells us that faith results from accepting the God message. How does someone get faith in God? By being presented with truth about God, and accepting it as the truth. Faith in God comes by choosing to accept the message of God. We must not restrict our understanding of how faith comes to our physical sense of hearing. Every way we can receive information about God is an avenue that can bring us faith. Bible faith can result from what is seen according to John 20:8
and 20:29. Faith in God can also come through the sense of touch. Otherwise no deaf and blind person could ever be saved, for they receive the message of God through reading braille with their fingers.
You can read your Bible and decide to believe it. Then you will have faith in God, for the Bible is God's written Word. We get faith in God by making a decision to accept God’s written Word, the Bible, as trust worthy of being acted upon.So if someone says they don't have much faith, the solution for them is to see the evidence from God's Word on that subject, then choose to accept what God says as truth.

17 So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ (Romans 10:17).

HEBREWS 3:1; 4:14

Your confession is what you say. You should persistently continue speaking in faith, agreeing with what God has said, regardless of circumstances. If it never seemed like it was not working, there would be no need to hold fast, or hang on, to a confession of faith. Some people are surprised when they act on God's Word and it does not immediately come to pass. But there is abundant evidence in Scripture showing that is normal. God never promised that everything would happen instantly. The time period involved gives us opportunity to walk in faith and please God. Remember that authority is released through words. When we speak in dis-agreement with what God says, we are giving authority in that area of our lives to our enemy. This is why
Scripture tells us to struggle to keep speaking in agreement with God's Word. Why does the Bible tell us to "hold fast" or you might say "hang on tight" or "hang on for dear life." Obviously, something or someone is trying hard to get us to turn loose. Who or what do you think that is?

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus,

14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession (Hebrews 3:1 & 4:14).

PROVERBS 12:22

God keeps His Word (Titus 1:2), and as His children we are to be like Him (Ephesians 5:1). God is dependable so His people should be dependable. Christians should be known as people of
honesty. Keeping our word should be a priority. Our reputation should be more important to us than our feelings, our finances, or our comfort. We should be like those mentioned in Psalm 15:4 who "keep their
promises even when it hurts." People should be able to depend on us. Will we do what we said we would do, even if it costs us? Or will we only do what benefits us? It is really a question of whether we will be selfish or whether we will walk in love. But there is also another important reason to keep our word
so our faith will work as it should.  Jesus taught that for faith to work effectively we must believe
those things we say. If you don't keep your word, it will affect your faith. If you want to walk in faith, and thus enjoy all the blessings God has provided for you, then you must believe what you say. Lying
won't work! Yet as humans, we all may sometimes find ourselves in situations beyond our control where it is impossible to keep a promise we have made. In such cases, we should apologize and go forward in life, asking God to help us do better next time.



 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in those who tell the truth (Proverbs 12:22).

John 16:33

Jesus never promised us a rose garden and trust me he knew a little something about pain and gardens.He recognized that we would encounter trouble. But His instructions were to be of good cheer -- not to let it get
us down. As we encounter difficulties in life, it will help us to remember the big picture. First, God is our Father and has a wonderful eternal plan for us. We are His children and He loves us. Second, this time is but a training period for our future life with God. We are supposed to be learning to trust God and to obey Him.
So, every problem we ever face is an opportunity to walk in faith and please God. Every problem is an opportunity to overcome with God's help. How can we expect to receive the blessings promised to the over comer if we never have anything to overcome? What is the answer when we seem overwhelmed with trouble? Look to Jesus. He has already won the victory. He has overcome and defeated the world. In Him is victory. You may ask how you can look to Jesus. It is mostly a matter of focus  what you choose to think on. What God says in His Word will set you free and give you peace. What the circumstances say is not the final word. So, go to God's Word. Cling to the promises. Speak them. Sing them. Shout them. Rejoice over them. And thank God for them. Also, you need to develop a closer relationship with the Lord.
That is His desire and it should be yours. All relationships are based on communication, so you must talk to the Lord to deepen your relationship with Him. Develop the habit of talking with Him about everything. You can speak freely to Him  after all He knows what you are thinking anyway.





33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will[a] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).

Jeremiah 31:32

Does God desire a company of people who will obey the ten commandments, give ten percent of all their income to Him, and faithfully attend worship services each week? That was the Old Covenant. If God was happy with what was happening then, He would have never instituted a New Covenant. If that was all God desired, He could have stayed with the Old Covenant. Why bother with Jesus dying to bring in a New
Covenant? God said the New Covenant is NOT like the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was primarily dependent on human effort. The New Covenant is primarily dependent on what God has done
through Jesus Christ. That is why the Old Covenant was weak. Humans are fallible, but God is not.
God does not change, but His covenants do change. God wants to live in you, and be able to express Himself through you (2 Corinthians 6:16, Colossians 1:27). God wants you to give yourself to Him unreservedly, just like He has given Himself to you. Would you be satisfied if your spouse visited you once or twice a week and gave you ten percent of their income? What kind of relationship would that be? Would you want a part-time spouse that you shared with several others? Maybe one that just visited you on Sundays? God gave you His all, His best. God made a total commitment to you and His desire is for you to
reciprocate His love and commitment. Jesus did not die for you so you would give Him ten percent of
your money or your time. Jesus expressed His love for you by giving His all. Nothing less than giving your all to Him is a decent response to what He did for you. Does this mean you must give everything you own to a church, or to the poor? No. But it does mean you should be ready and willing to trust Jesus and obey whatever He guides you to do.



32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them,[a] says the Lord ( Jeremiah 31:32).

Mark 11:22-24

How Faith Works

Faith is what you believe. In the Bible, faith is the noun form and believe is the verb form of the same word.
Faith a belief is always a decision, based on some evidence, resulting in some action. Faith in God is a choice to believe what God says is true. It is accepting God's Word as evidence worthy of acting upon.
Faith in God and His Word operates on the same principles as faith in anything else. There are no special rules. It is all a matter of what you believe. All humans operate on a belief system. As we go through life we are constantly being presented with information which is evidence that we must evaluate and judge.
Whenever we choose to accept the evidence presented to us as sufficient to accept as truth, then that belief is added to our belief system. Unless and until we are presented with new evidence that causes
us to decide to believe differently about a subject, we keep the same belief. Then as we go through life, we always act  on the basis of our belief system. Sometimes we face situations in life where there is not time to think, and immediate action is required. These actions are always governed by the beliefs we have already determined which form our belief system. The Bible is major evidence to change your beliefs. It is a
message from God, the Creator, who knows how everything works. As we receive new evidence from the Bible, it may conflict with some of our previous beliefs. But we know that God cannot lie, and whatever He says is truth and will happen.  Fear is the opposite of Bible hope. Bible hope is a positive expectation based on and supported by a belief in God's Word. Fear is a negative expectation based on and supported by a
belief in something bad. Both involve the imagination, the seeing part of our thinking, the ability to visualize something before it happens, or after it happens.Faith in God produces Bible hope  expecting good to happen. Faith in bad things produces fear expecting bad to happen. Faith is the support, the foundation, the underlying thing under both hope and fear. You cannot have hope. It is your belief that supports, under girds  and provides the basis for your hope or fear. The belief was a choice you made. Then it became part of your belief system. That provides the basis for your hopes or your fears. Faith is released and put into action by speaking what you believe with your mouth. The primary action of faith toward God is speaking in agreement
with God's Word. And then we stand in that position of faith, regardless of feelings or circumstances, no matter how long it takes.





22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.
23 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. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:22-24).

God is not your enemy

 Popular idea is that God is really mad at people and can hardly wait to punish them for their sins.
The truth is that God has already forgiven people. Now you must accept His forgiveness to enjoy a restored relationship with Him. What a shame it is that people are estranged from God and go without His help and blessing  simply because they think God is against them and would have nothing to do with them.  No matter what you have done  God has already forgiven you! More than forgiven you are loved! Forgiving you was God's idea you do not have to convince Him. You must believe God forgave you and thank Him.
Jesus Christ already paid the price for all your sins  and God is no longer holding any sin against you! You have been forgiven.





17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).

Nothing can separate us from the Love of the Lord

You may find it difficult to believe but it's true  God loves you, I realize from the look in your eyes and tone of your voice you don't believe a word coming from my mouth. You see God the Father as having been an absentee Father. That my child is a life from the pit of hell.  His love for you is not based on your appearance or your performance but on the fact that you are His creation His child. I know you have prayed and He never seemed to  come when you wanted Him to, but trust  me He was there and He has counted ever tear you have shade and He will wipe away ever tear you have shade and the joy that the enemy has stolen away The Heavenly Father can give it back to and more joy than the world can understand. But you must walk by faith and trust in Him even when you can't see Him or a way out, for His word tells me He did not bring us this far to leave us. Just as a good parent loves their children, so God loves His children  and even more so, He sacrificed His only begotten son for you and I. You will not be able to make God stop loving you, no matter what you do or don't do. You can displease Him, you can disappoint Him, you can anger Him  but you can't make Him stop loving you. What are the practical consequences of God loving you? First, it means you can trust Him. No one who truly loves you will mistreat you. Second, it means God is doing all He can to help you and bless you. "Then why am I  going through this?"  We must learn to cooperate with God to receive His blessing. That is why we need continuing instruction from the Bible  so we can know how to receive all that God has for us. The promise of Jesus is that if we continue in His Word it will reveal the truth to us and make us free. That is the blessing which God has provided for you through Christ because He loves you: true freedom! Freedom from fear, freedom from confusion, freedom from lack, freedom from sickness, freedom from strife, freedom from sin.


38. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 
39. nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans8:38-39).








Lord I know that there are many among us tonight that feel like you abandoned them, I'm guilty of this, when my PTSD episodes happen, in the middle of the night the wife the children and friends and family are  all asleep, even the dog and the cat and I feel all alone. Even though we can't feel your not far, help us to reach out into the darkness and take hold of your unchanging hand. Let us not fear the dark but know that you are with us.

The Heart of Service

This is an old blog that I think is relevant in all of our lives and something that I feel is especially important to me right now.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about serving and loving people. Why do we serve? Why do we show people the love of God? Is it because we want people to see our good works? Or do we serve because it makes us feel good? 

Ephesians 6:6-8 (AMP) “Not in the way of eye-service [as if they were watching you] and only to please men, but as servants (slaves) of Christ, doing the will of God heartily and with your whole soul; Rendering service readily with goodwill, as to the Lord and not to men, Knowing that for whatever good anyone does, he will receive his reward from the Lord, whether he is slave or free”.

My hope is that we serve people and love people because God wants us to and tells us to. 

The word of God tells us over and over again that we are to serve the least:

Matthew 25:31-46,Luke 6:27-36,Mark 10:35-45,Proverbs 31:8-9,James 2:14-17,Phillipians 2:1-18,Romans 12:9-13,Proverbs 14:21. This is only a short list of what God's word says.

 Romans 12:1-2(ESV)

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”.

God tells us that we are to fully surrender to Him. When we accept Christ, we are called to be 'holy', that is "set apart". What does this mean to you? Does this mean that we just pretend to be 'holy' or does this mean that we look completely different than the world, that we act different, talk differently and interact differently than everyone else. As believers in Christ, we shouldn't have the mindset that we "have" to serve others; we should have the mindset that we "get" to serve others. If we go into a service project or an outreach with the mindset that it is hard work, or it is an inconvenience, then we are going to show that to others. When we serve people we have to do it out of love for God.

If we have accepted Christ then we are transformed and renewed and we are beginning the process of becoming more like Christ. As we walk through this process, then we start to understand God’s heart and we start to see things through the eyes and heart of God. This is what I think it means to “Love the Lord with all your heart”. When we do this, our heart starts breaking for the things that break God’s heart.  This is the desire of the heart that God wants to give us. This is the ultimate goal of accepting Christ, to bring his kingdom closer. Serving people should come from the heart and we know from God's word that God gives us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). Hmm, so as a disciple of Christ my desires are no longer my desires but God’s desires. This all makes perfect sense now. I should serve people and love people because that is the heart of God and as a follower of Jesus Christ; I have the heart of God.

Reflect on Ephesians 6:6-8 and search your heart. Are you serving because you “have” to or because you “GET” to, through the grace of God.

MATTHEW 7:11

God is primarily a parent -- and a good one, too -- the best. Better than any earthly parent by far. I used to think of God primarily as a judge, someone watching to see if I did anything wrong so He could punish me.
But that is not what the New Testament reveals to us. Jesus taught us to pray: "Our Father" That is the primary way we should relate to God, as our Father. Only once in the KJV New Testament do we find the phrase "God the judge," while the phrase "God the Father" is found thirteen times. Eleven times we find the phrase "God our Father," but not once do we find "God our judge." A good father will combine being a friend and also being a trainer. He will be tough when necessary, for the good of the child. That's the way it is with God. Yes, there are some things He has told us not to do  but they are all for our good, because
He knows there will be bad consequences if we do them. We can be confident God is always playing the part of being a good parent to us. He is always trying to help us, nurture us, and encourage us. God is for us  not against us. And, even when we do wrong and get in trouble  God is there to help us  not to condemn us. He is our perfect parent. We must realize that everything God does is for our benefit  not His. God is raising a family. He is training us and encouraging us to grow up. Our destiny is to be like Jesus Christ. Children are not afraid of good parents, because they are there to nurture and help. However, a good parent will punish wrong doing  not because they want to hurt their child but because they want to train them so they can mature and do well in life. The primary desire of every good parent is to see their child grow up, to become a mature, responsible, capable adult.This is also the desire of God for His children. His desire is that we grow up to become mature like Christ. This requires a certain amount of freedom and responsibility. A
parent cannot forever shelter children and expect them to mature properly. God wants us to learn to love, just like Christ did.



If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him (Matthew 7:11).

(Leviticus 25:35) Giving people a hand up!!

"If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as through he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you." Leviticus 25:35

There are people in this world that will tell you that the only person you should look out for is yourself. They will tell you that people should help themselves and that you shouldn't keep trying to help people. I would tell these people that it is important that we Love people the way that God loves us. God loves everyone and wants to be reconciled to all people. The way that this is done is through the blood of Christ. Jesus died on the Cross, so that you don't have to die, but is this the only reason that Jesus came to earth, or was there more. Luke 4:18-19 " “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me  because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Did you catch that, Jesus came to proclaim the good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind and to set the oppressed free. Jesus came for those less fortunate people that the world tells us aren't worth it. Jesus came for the people that are outcast in our society, and he came for the people that are oppressed by sin. We are called to do what Jesus did and to do greater works (John 14:12) I want to challenge you to search your heart and start to think athink about what it means to be a Disciple of Christ. How does being a disciple make you different than your neighbor? Over 1 billion people in the world live off of less than a dollar a day. And still we in the American church hide behind the walls of our “church" and pretend like we are helping. Human beings are selfish creatures. We will instinctively look out for ourselves before we will look out for others. Jesus showed us something different. Jesus showed us what true love is. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” (1 John 3:16-18).

I opened this blog with Leviticus 25:35 because it is the way I believe Jesus wants us to live. He wants us to help the people around us. He wants us to give people a hand up. He wants us to build the people around us up, so that they can function on their own in society. Jesus is the only way that we can do this. Jesus has the power to transform people. I really believe that what Leviticus 25:35 is telling us, Is that we need to help people get back on their feet. It doesn’t say that we need to just hand money out and walk away. It says that we need to be a lasting part of these people’s lives. It says that we need to provide people with a way out of poverty and despair.

Lord God, I pray that you can give each of us strength to see beyond our selfish motives and help the people you want to help. I pray that you allow our hearts to break for the things that break your heart. Through the Holy Spirit I pray that you give us the words to say and the power to overcome the walls that are built around all these people’s lives. Allow hope to enter the hearts of all those that we serve, and allow change to take place, where change is needed. In your blessed and Holy name, Amen

 

2 THESSALONIANS 1:3

God made you for a purpose. God has a plan. You are not an accident. You may not have discovered where you fit and what your purpose is yet, but God has not forgotten you. He is still at work. Most of us will not affect the whole world, or even our entire city. That does not mean you are not important. The Bible uses the picture of a human body to illustrate the Body of Christ. Not every part is ever seen, but every part is important.  Even if no one knows the part you are doing, God does. You are important to God important enough to die for. God has a plan for you, and it lasts far beyond this life that we can now see.

 Dear brothers and sisters, we can't help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing ( 2 Thessalonians 1-3).

1 CORINTHIANS 1:9

You should talk to God just as you would to a very well-respected friend. Don't worry about using any special form of words. Just talk openly, honestly, and sincerely from your heart.  God knows what you are thinking anyway. You can't fool God or hide anything from Him. God knows you better than you know
yourself. And the wonderful thing is that God still loves you! Nothing that concerns you is unimportant to God. Remember, He even keeps count of how many hairs you have! God is not too busy to hear about every detail of your life. I have no idea how God can listen to all of us, but He can. He is not bound by time like we are. However He does it, we don't have to be concerned but can just trust Him.  What a privilege to have the input and counsel of God who knows everything. Don't fail to take advantage of this tremendous
opportunity. We are called into fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ! That means we should share everything with Him.God invites us to fellowship with Him. That would include just discussing things. Just visiting. Just "hanging out" together. This is what God desires. So don't disappoint Him! Don't talk at God, talk directly to God. Prayer should not be a spiritual exercise you have to get through. It's a conversation
with Someone who loves you, and is very smart. "But what can I say to God?" "Thank You!" would be a good start. What would you say to any friend who was with you? You wouldn't have any trouble figuring
out what to talk about with them would you? "But," you say, "God doesn't talk back." Yes, that is a difference you have to get used to. True, God does not usually speak back to us in the normal human fashion. The main way He "speaks" to us is through inward impressions or ideas, all of which will line up with His written Word, the Bible. We have to learn His way of communicating.

 

 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Corinthians 1:9).

MATTHEW 22:37-38

Some commands are more important and carry more weight than others. Not all of Scripture is commands. Mostly it could be called rules  for living. In some situations these rules may conflict with one another. When they do, we must know which ones take precedence. Unless you recognize this, you might find yourself confused when facing an important decision. The Bible says children should obey their parents. But children
should not obey an order to forget God. The Bible says we are to obey government leaders. But what if
you live in a country where it is illegal to be a Christian? Clearly, God is a higher authority than human government, so there are times when a believer may have to disobey human government. As these examples should make obvious, there may be times we have to ignore one Scriptural instruction in order to obey a
more important one. We should obey our spiritual leaders, such as a pastor. But those leaders are human and can be wrong. If they tell you to do things contrary to God you should not blindly follow them.When we work for someone we are to obey them. But we should not obey if asked to do something illegal or immoral. As an extreme example, a teenage boy might be in a situation where God, government, his parents, his boss, and his pastor might all be telling him to do something different. Which one should he obey? There is New Testament Scripture telling him to obey them all! Obeying God is always the ultimate priority. If and when we are ever faced with such decisions, we should turn to God for guidance and follow His direction.




 Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God...'
This is the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:37-38).

ISAIAH 53:5

God has already made provision for us in every area of life. He created enough abundance for all mankind. Yet many Christians struggle with financial problems. But the problem is not that God is withholding from us.
Throughout the New Testament, we are told God has already given us everything we need, for example see: 2 Peter 1:3, Romans 8:17, Romans 8:32, Galatians 4:7, Ephesians 1:3. The problem is that we've been allowing the devil to steal what belongs to us. We must quit allowing this to happen. We must stand in faith and claim what is ours. After all, Jesus paid a great price for us to have it! Jesus came to redeem us from the control of the devil and set us free from the curse. Jesus paid the price for us to have abundant blessing in every area of life.  Jesus' suffering brought us peace.  Peace  shalom  means wholeness, nothing missing, nothing
broken, nothing wrong. It definitely includes the idea of prosperity  every need met and having more than enough. Jesus suffered so you could have this shalom peace and prosperity. Part of the curse that Jesus redeemed you from is poverty. And what a curse poverty is! It causes misery, disease, ruined lives, and destroyed families. The devil has tried to convince Christians that poverty is a blessing because it will make you humble and more godly. While it is true that many rich people are arrogant and ungodly, that does not automatically mean being poor makes you godly. On the contrary, God is the richest being in the universe, and riches have not corrupted Him. The devil is a thief. He has stolen money that belongs to you. You need to say, "That's mine! Jesus paid for me to have abundant provision. Turn loose of it devil!" That is what I mean by claiming prosperity. After you receive legal notice that something is yours, you can claim it whenever you desire. God's Word is our legal notice of what belongs to us as a gift because of the wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's time we quit letting the devil steal what belongs to us.

 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:5).

1 THESSALONIANS 5:18

You ever wonder what God's perfect will is . The will of God is not for us to start worrying and
being fearful about missing His will. Instead we should stay in faith, knowing that God is working and guiding us even when we are not aware of it. God is not responsible for the bad things that come our way in
life the devil and people are to blame. But when we start complaining and criticizing, we step out of
faith, joy, and peace. These spiritual forces the "fruit" of the spirit are for our protection. So we can, and should, always thank God at all times. We should develop the habit of having an attitude of gratitude.
Our God is amazing! He can turn bad things around and take the sting out of them. When we stay in faith, always being thankful, the sting is removed from the evil that comes against us. Then, instead of destroying us, it can become a stepping-stone to take us to a higher place of blessing. So while God is not actually responsible for any of the bad things that happen, we should be thankful always  no matter what happens.
An attitude of constant gratitude provides a shield of faith protecting you and allowing God to freely act in your life, bringing blessing and deliverance. So when something bad happens in your life, don't complain.
Don't criticize God, or people. Don't beat yourself over the head. Just begin to say things like: Thank You Lord that you are with me to guide me and help me, that You love me, that You are working in my life, that You protect me and preserve me and deliver me from evil, and that no weapon formed against me shall prosper or prevail!

 Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

ROMANS 6:23

God loved the people of the world  so much, that He gave His only begotten son  to suffer the penalty justice demands for our sins which was death, so He could offer you eternal life which means we would be with him in glory forever without sin. We should rejoice in God's mercy and love, but we should not forget that sin is a terrible thing. Sin is not just a list of things God has arbitrarily determined to be against. Sin is bad. Even if there was no God, sin would still be bad. God is against sin because it separate us from God. The Bible is clear that sin is deadly. All sin eventually brings forth death. I don't mean that sin results in punishment but that sin produces death and loss.  Sin leads to death. Sin is also deceptive. It can sometimes tantalize by offering pleasure for a season.

 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Roman 6:23).

ROMANS 15:7

We have only two choices, accept people, or reject them. When you realize this, it may change the way you treat people. When we criticize or condemn people, we communicate rejection. When we try to change people, it communicates that they are not good enough for us, that we don't like them. "But what if they are not perfect? What if they don't believe everything I believe?" Were you born believing all you do now? Or did you go through a process of learning over time? Should we throw out people because they still have something to learn? What happens when you don't accept people as they are? It feeds the lie that they are no good and have no value. We can accept people and celebrate their value without approving of their sins. But when we refuse to accept people until they are perfect, we communicate rejection. When someone feels rejected, they tend to reject those who reject them, and what they represent. So when Christians communicate rejection to sinners, they assume God is rejecting them, and tend to reject God because they think He rejects them.  To walk with Jesus you will have to treat people as Jesus would treat them. You may not like the way they look, talk, act, think, or smell, but if they are a human being you must acknowledge that Jesus Christ loves them enough to die for them, and He is not rejecting people. Instead, the Bible reveals that Jesus Christ is our Advocate, only God's unconditional love can give us the strength we need to have hope. Most people realize that if we must earn God's help there is no hope for us outside of God's plan for us.
This is the main reason why so many people shun Christianity and want to have nothing to do with God. They have accepted a wrong image of God, thinking He is a stern Judge who is against them, instead of realizing the truth that He is a loving Father like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son that Jesus
told us about.  God accepts people as they are. So should we. Christ died for the ungodly. God so loved the world that He gave. People crave love. Unconditional love will draw people. It is God's goodness that leads people to repent. Every time we meet someone, we are faced with a choice: love them  or judge them, accept them as they are  or attempt to change them, make them feel respected  or despised, make them
feel valuable and precious or make them feel worthless. You might as well accept people as they are instead of trying to change them. You can't change people anyway. Only God can really change people. Our job is to love them and help them. Also remember that God made people to be different. So don't expect everyone will be exactly like you.


Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God (Romans 15:7).