What is faith? Where do you put your faith in? I decifinally write about this after another challenge (more down below) in my life (Saturday, December 1st of 2007). I was at a "town hall meeting" with a visiting U.S. Senator (see Coleman stresses renewable energy during brief stop) later this part of the week. I know he was there to listen to our community's concerns or issues going on in our presnet day. However, I was kind of getting tired of some of the citizens/fellow neighbors of my community complaining. In fact, I've heard enough at this point after hearing many repeating the same concern-"illegal immigrants" in our country" from several folks in places I've been around (e.g. waiting for a tire change in St. Paul this summer). In fact, it's been used in the past where they use "them" as scapegoats to complain or point their fingers as "economic hindrances". Whenever our economy goes bad, they like to blame others instead of taking responsibility. We as citizens of America can sometimes depend too much on government. Whether its dependence on health care, social security, jobs, etc... I feel the government can do so much. It's like one of the famous speeches by JFK, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what YOU can do for your country". From my years of education , I've been taught to "be involved" or "be the solution" in times of crisis.
"By Dr. Harold Sala
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. Psalm 61:2, KJV
Henrietta Mears, an outstanding Christian leader whose life inspired thousands of men and women, used to say that a college student who gave up his faith had not lost his or her faith. She contended that the person never had any faith to begin with. At any rate, life has a way of challenging the foundation of your faith, whether it is by circumstance or factors over which you have no control, and you cry, "Lord, I just can't handle this!" When your heart cries out in pain, there are some things you must do to undergo spiritual rehabilitation.
First, go to the Word of God and identify with men and women whose faith has been tested as yours has. Guideline #2: Refuse to relinquish what you know to be true. This is a matter of telling your emotions where to get off, and to hold on to certain facts which you know are true regardless of how you feel. Do not depend on your feelings to remind you of God's love when you are angered by the circumstances of life.
Now Guideline #3: When your faith is challenged, turn to the Lord but do not turn on the Lord . The preposition makes all the difference in the world. I have often thought of the words of David in Psalm 61, who cried out, "When my heart is overwhelmed, lead me to the rock which is higher than I!" Yes, Lord, when I cannot handle things, I cry out, "Lead me to the Rock, Christ Jesus, who can lift me up and plant my feet on solid rock."
When Stan Collins was felled with a heart attack, he thought of the conferences where he was booked to speak, and the writing commitments which were before him. In his heart he cried out, "Lord, why me?" Back from the deep recesses of his heart came a small voice, "Why not you?" One of the things which causes many Christians--maybe you, too--to cry out, "Lord, I can't handle this!" is the mistaken idea that God has exempted us from the problems of life--arthritis, colds, flu and personal problems--so when they confront us we forget that He promised to walk with us even through the valley of the shadow of death. That is when we need to take that problem to the Lord and tell Him how we feel in no uncertain terms. It is your attitude that makes all the difference in the world.
In John, Chapter 11, there is a story of two sisters whose brother had died, and when Lazarus was placed in a tomb they both felt that Jesus had let them down. Four days later, Jesus showed up--but too late (so they thought). When they saw Him, both sisters spoke the same words, but with a different attitude of the heart. They both said, "Lord, if only you had been here our brother would not have died!" When Martha spoke these words she spoke in defiance as she went out to the street to meet the Master; but when Mary spoke them she fell at His feet and sobbed them from a broken heart.
When you fall at His feet and pour out your heart, it is then that you hear His voice and feel the touch of His hand. In many homes around the world are small figurines from Italy, reproductions of the Masters; but what most do not realize is that they are made of finely ground marble (dust reshaped into images of the originals). When life grinds you down and you cry out, "Lord, I just can't handle this," let the Master put the pieces together in His image. It is truly amazing what God can do with the broken pieces which you thought were worthless.
As the songwriter put it, "He made something beautiful of my life...."
Resource reading: Philippians 3. "
"
Main Entry:
1faith Listen to the pronunciation of 1faith
Pronunciation:
\ˈfÄth\
Function:
noun
Inflected Form(s):
plural faiths Listen to the pronunciation of faiths \ˈfÄths, sometimes ˈfÄthz\
Etymology:
Middle English feith, from Anglo-French feid, fei, from Latin fides; akin to Latin fidere to trust — more at bide
Date:
13th century
1 a: allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty b (1): fidelity to one's promises (2): sincerity of intentions2 a (1): belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2): belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1): firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2): complete trust3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
What Does the Bible Say?
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation."-Hebrew 11
" 1Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2This is what the ancients were commended for.
3By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 4By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was commended as a righteous man, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith he still speaks, even though he is dead.
5By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death; he could not be found, because God had taken him away. For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
7By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
" 8By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11By faith Abraham, even though he was past age—and Sarah herself was barren—was enabled to become a father because he[a]considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. 14People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
17By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18even though God had said to him, "It is through Isaac that your offspring[b] will be reckoned."[c] 19Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.
Abraham and Isaac
"
20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions about his bones.
23By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict.
24By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. 25He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king's anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29By faith the people passed through the Red Sea[d] as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
" 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days.
31By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.[e]
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned[f]; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.
39These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
Related Sites:
Q: Did the people of "faith" in the Old Testament go to Heaven?
Did Elijah Go to Heaven?, from ucgstp.org
Personal Experience
Currently (December of 2007), I'm layed off from my regular full-time job. I was a little dissappointed when my boss told me this when she first asked me to her office one day. I kind of saw it coming because my co-workers were already talking about this coming long before due to budget constraints and potential budget cuts. My faith in God gave me peace and comfort when I got layed off from my job. As I've grown in my personal relationship with God, I've been able to grow and depend on Him more no matter what circumstances or trial ahead. I also told my boss that I already have a part-time job that I can fall back in and would be willing to on-call whenever they need me. Plus, I looked at this as an opportunity to self-evaluate my life (e.g. purpose at this point and see what other avenues or open doors God has for me. I don't worry about what I'll eat or how I'm going to pay my bills because my Heavenly Father watches over me.
Today (March 19th of 2009), I decided to follow-up on this story (above). I felt God's open door was to go "back to school" and pursue a teaching degree in ESL (English as a Second Language). I'm currently finishing my last week of my 3rd of 4th remaining classes to get my teachers licensure-yepeee! Praise the Lord! Stay tune and come back the end of this summer to see what came out next.
Life is Temporary - Bluefish TV
Doubt?
Worried?
Wednesday, September 2nd of 2009
"Don't worry be happy?"..I know it's easier said than done. It's in our human nature to worry, but the Bible says we must have faith (not to worry). Faith grows through a personal trusting relationship with God, which takes time.
"Psalm 55:22
Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.
Peter 5:7-"
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
5 Minutes Bible Study - Stress And Your Faith
"Do Not Worry
25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."-Matthew 6
Music
-Acoustics
There can be miracles
[Mariah]:
In this time of fear
There can be miracles
[Whitney and Mariah]:
[Mariah]:
[Whitney and Mariah]:
They don't always happen when you ask
There can be miracles (Miracles)
-Rock
Don't stop believin'
-Worship
Teachings
Video
Faith vs. Fear - Mac vs PC Mac PC - Bluefish TV
Health
Nick Vujicic's Inspirational Talk-Life Without Limbs 2 of 4
Narnia - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Clip 07 - HQ
Music
-Rock
" 1 Be merciful to me, O God, for men hotly pursue me;
Countdown To Eternity - Biblical Last Days And The End Times Part 7
What is Faith 1
Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 11:52 PM
In case you’re interested… I copied (below) some of the verses I had written down awhile back, about "remembering" -and not forgetting- what God has done:
Deuteronomy 4:9
Deuteronomy 25:19
Psalm 77:11-12
Psalm 103:2
Psalm 105:5-6
Psalm 126:3
Isaiah 46:9
2 Timothy 2:8
Bless you!
Noah's Floating Zoo - Noah's Ark Video for Kids
"Noah's Floating Zoo features Noah and a loveable cast of animals. Children will follow Noah as he obeys God's command to build an ark and gather two of every kind of animal."
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Turkish of Turkey Outreach & GoodnewsEverybody.com Babies, Children, Kids, etc.. Outreach-"child like faith" (Matthew 18:3)
"The story of Abraham going up the mountain to sacrifice Isaac. Part of a series - check out the rest"
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Middle Eastern Outreach-Abrahamic Faith
The Ten Commandments - Moses Parts the Red Sea
"Moses, played by the late Charlton Heston, parts the Red Sea in one of cinema's most epic scenes of all time.
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com African-Middle Eastern: Egyptian of Egypt Outreach
From the movie The Ten Commandments, also starring Yul Brynner."
Moses Parts the Sea - Behold, the power of God
"For a better version of this, see the other vid I've made... One Republic Apologize - God's Power - Moses Parts The Sea
This clip is edited and accompanied by medleys, the first of which is from King Kong, and the second from the 'Forces of Nature'. It's nothing too fancy but please leave your comment on this historical event. This version of Exodus was broadcast by ABC as a miniseries. It was a wonderful depiction showing God's 'wonders' in setting at liberty his chosen people. Please rate and leave a comment, and where you're from. Thanks! "
*see Bible
"A biblical event many cite to support belief that the righteous go to heaven when they die involves the prophet Elijah. Elijah was a prophet of God in the ninth century B.C. The Bible states that "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven" (2Kings 2:11). But does this contradict the testimony of Jesus, who was to state some 900 years after Elijah's time that "no one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man"?; (John 3:13)..."
Salvation BEFORE the Crucifixion of Jesus, from biblebell.org
"..Faith, but no Savior
But how could the Old Testament saints have been saved when Jesus had not yet died for their sins? The verses alongside answer this question...
* The OT saints KNEW that God would, in His perfect time, provide them with a Messiah -- a King -- to bring salvation from their sins.
* They knew because God told them so! Zech 9.9, Job 19.25-26, Gen 3.15, Gen 22.8, Isa 53.5, et al
* The entire animal-sacrifice system (Exodus & Leviticus) vividly showed the OT saints that God would provide a Redeemer to shed blood in atonement for their sins. .."
Were Old Testament People Born Again?, billphillips.wordpress.com
"...This is an interesting topic, and I would say they were not born again during their lives. When they died, they went to Abraham’s Bosom to await the Messiah and being born again. We know they are born again today, and in heaven. We know they are in heaven, because Matthew 8:11 says Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are in the kingdom of heaven. Luke 13:28 says those three and all of the prophets are in the kingdom of God. Since they are in heaven, they must be born again (John 3:3). Those two verses (Matthew 8:11 and Luke 13:28) seem very valuable in doing away with their whole concept of 144,000 people in heaven."
*see GoodnewsEverybody: Life-Eternity
"This creative clip challenges us to recognize the many elements of our temporary life and realize life's emptiness without faith. Video download available at http://www.bluefishtv.com/videos"
"..Finally, she suggested that the upcoming Christmas holiday should remind the world "that radiating joy is real" because Christ is everywhere — "Christ in our hearts, Christ in the poor we meet, Christ in the smile we give and in the smile that we receive."
Yet less than three months earlier, in a letter to a spiritual confidant, the Rev. Michael van der Peet, that is only now being made public, she wrote with weary familiarity of a different Christ, an absent one. "Jesus has a very special love for you," she assured Van der Peet. "[But] as for me, the silence and the emptiness is so great, that I look and do not see, — Listen and do not hear — the tongue moves [in prayer] but does not speak ... I want you to pray for me — that I let Him have [a] free hand." ...
That absence seems to have started at almost precisely the time she began tending the poor and dying in Calcutta, and — except for a five-week break in 1959 — never abated. Although perpetually cheery in public, the Teresa of the letters lived in a state of deep and abiding spiritual pain. In more than 40 communications, many of which have never before been published, she bemoans the "dryness," "darkness," "loneliness" and "torture" she is undergoing. She compares the experience to hell and at one point says it has driven her to doubt the existence of heaven and even of God. She is acutely aware of the discrepancy between her inner state and her public demeanor. "The smile," she writes, is "a mask" or "a cloak that covers everything." Similarly, she wonders whether she is engaged in verbal deception. "I spoke as if my very heart was in love with God — tender, personal love," she remarks to an adviser. "If you were [there], you would have said, 'What hypocrisy.'" Says the Rev. James Martin, an editor at the Jesuit magazine America and the author of My Life with the Saints, a book that dealt with far briefer reports in 2003 of Teresa's doubts: "I've never read a saint's life where the saint has such an intense spiritual darkness. No one knew she was that tormented." Recalls Kolodiejchuk, Come Be My Light's editor: "I read one letter to the Sisters [of Teresa's Missionaries of Charity], and their mouths just dropped open. It will give a whole new dimension to the way people understand her." ....
Letters Reveal Mother Teresa's Secret
Book Of Iconic Nun's Letters Shows She Was Tormented By Her Doubts In Her Faith
LONDON, Aug. 23, 2007 | by Michelle Singer cbsnews.com
"...But now, it has emerged that Mother Teresa was so doubtful of her own faith that she feared being a hypocrite, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Phillips.
In a new book that compiles letters she wrote to friends, superiors and confessors, her doubts are obvious.
Shortly after beginning work in Calcutta's slums, the spirit left Mother Teresa.
"Where is my faith?" she wrote. "Even deep down… there is nothing but emptiness and darkness... If there be God — please forgive me."
..."
"STRESS AND YOUR FAITH by Dr. Harold Sala
Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Daniel 6:10
If you have ever been tempted to think that Christians should not face stress, ponder the stress that some of the heroes of the Bible faced. Consider Daniel in the lion's den. If God doesn't bring deliverance, he's on the menu for breakfast the next morning--which would have been terminal stress. Think of Esther, the young woman who risked her life going before King Xerxes. "If I perish, I perish!" she cried. Yes, she knew what stress is. Then there is Joseph, falsely convicted of sexual assault, unjustly thrown in prison and seemingly forgotten by God because of his moral uprightness. Don't think that Joseph was a stranger to stress.
If they had given gold medals for stress, the Apostle Paul would surely have deserved one. His entire life was a study of stress. Consider just a few of the stressful events of the second missionary journey. He had an argument with his best friend, Barnabas. That's stressful! He wanted to go into Bithynia or Russia as we know it today, and the door was closed. That's stressful! Finally coming to Philippi, he was not well received but beaten and thrown into prison. The stress meter must have really jumped when all of that happened. Yet Paul wrote, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Frankly, there are times when you face certain stress because you are doing the right thing: the wife whose husband is a rascal, the youth who is rejected by his parents because of his faith, the individual who is persecuted because he or she doesn't go along with the crowd.
To suggest that believers should be immune from the consequences of stress is about as unrealistic as saying that Christians should never have colds or the flu, but (and I want you to get this), the way a Christian views stressful events and circumstances, and how he relates to them, has a great deal to do with how he copes with them.
At some point the believer has to ask, "Where is God in relationship to the events which are causing me so much stress? Has He forsaken and forgotten me? Or is He still in charge of the events which are really stressing me out? At some point when you face stress you have to ask, "Do I believe what Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:11, which says that God works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will"? Do I believe Romans 8:28 is true--that God works all things for good because I love Him and I am called according to His purpose?
If you answer, "Yes!" to those questions you begin to see the stressful events as tools in the hands of a loving God as He, fully in control, takes them and begins to use them in shaping your life, perhaps knocking off some of the rough edges, bringing you into conformity with the will and purpose of God.
You are no longer a victim of circumstances, a target of individuals who dislike you or even hate you. You are God's child, and you then begin to seek solutions from a totally different perspective from that of the person who is not a Christian.
For the child of God, nothing takes Him by surprise. He knew about those situations which cause you stress long before He ever created you. When tomorrow comes, God will be there and He will welcome you with arms outstretched.
May I say it again? The way you as a Christian view stressful events, and how you relate to them, has a great deal to do with how you cope with them. Either you are a victim of circumstances or a child of the King, whose life is still under the control of the Almighty.
Resource reading: John 16:25-33 "
Recommended Resources
Walk By Faith-Jeremy Camp
"This wonderful video by christian artist Jeremy Camp "
-Contemporary Christian
Lord I Believe in You - Crystal Lewis (bilingual)
"Music video mix.
Crystal Lewis - Lord I Believe in You
English/Spanish "
Crystal Lewis-Trust Me, from youtube.com
*more (Jesus Freak-"People Get Ready")
-Gospel
John P. Kee - We Walk By Faith
"John P Kee and Vanessa Bell Armstrong With the New Life Community Choir "
-Hip Hop
By Faith
"Director singer songwriter Ulysses Salett sings about having faith in God I love to sing praise and worship if i can be used by your ministry please contact me, i am your humble servant."
-Pop
George Michael" Faith"
"yes I've gotta have faith... "
*just pay attention to the chorus part!-lol!
-R&B
Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston - When You Believe
"A great song of Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston one of the Soundtrack songs of "The Prince of Egypt". "
*GoodnewsEverybody.com African-Middle Eastern: Egyptian of Egypt Outreach
Mariah Carey feat Whitney Houston - When you believe - lyrics , from youtube.com
Songwriters: Edmonds, Kenneth;Schwartz, Stephen, lyricsfreak.com
Artist: Whitney Houston
Song: When You Believe, from anysonglyrics.com
"Many nights we prayed
With no proof anyone could hear
In our hearts a hopeful a song
We barely understood
Now we are not afraid
Although we know there's much to fear
We were moving mountains
Long before we knew we could
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe
When prayer so often proves in vain
Hope seems like the summer bird
Too swiftly flown away
Yet now I’m standing here
My heart’s so full, I can’t explain
Seeking faith and speakin’ words
I never thought I’d say
When you believe (Whitney: When you believe)
Though hope is frail
It’s hard to kill (Whitney: Mmmmmhhh)
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve (Whitney: You can achieve)
When you believe
Somehow you will
You will when you believe
And it’s easy to give in to your fear
But when you’re blinded by your faith
Can't see your way clear through the rain
A small but still resilient voice
Says hope is very near
When you believe
Though hope is frail
It’s hard to kill
Who knows what miracles
You can achieve
When you believe somehow you will
Somehow you will
You will when you believe
When you believe"
Don't Stop Believing - Journey (lyrics)
"Just the song with the lyrics, very simple...
Hold on
Streetlight people...
"WOW Worship 2000 (Orange) CD1
Number 10 - I Walk By Faith (Praise Band) "
"What are the highpoints of your life?1 A family memory? A special award? Graduating from high school or college? Securing your first job? Getting married? Having your first child? Landing a sought-after promotion? Buying your dream home? Becoming a Christian? After experiencing such a great moment, what do you expect? If you’re like most people, you expect celebration, satisfaction, joy, rest, and peace. Unfortunately, in life things don’t always work out that way. After a high point you must assume that Satan will attack you or the Lord will test you, or both. This is the only way you can grow in your faith. God uses the tough circumstances of life to build the muscles of your faith and keep you from trusting something other than His Word. In Genesis 12:10-13:4, we find that Abram, the man of faith (12:1-9), was also, at times, a man of failure (12:10-20). In these verses, we will learn that any man or woman, regardless of his or her spirituality, is capable of faltering in the faith. Nevertheless, we will also find hope that God loves to restore people to Himself (13:1-4). When our faith fails, God doesn’t. Look with me at three principles that will help you live a life of extraordinary faith..."
"n this witty video illustration parody of the popular Mac vs. PC ads, Faith and Fear go head to head trying to convince the other one that their view on things makes more sense. Video download available at http://www.bluefishtv.com/videos "
'Life Without Limbs, Gospel, Inspirational Talk, Hope"
*see GoodnewsEverybody.com Life-Meaning, Purpose? & Singlehood
"Well, we have nothing, if not belief!
I will carry this quote with me forever, so important to remember.
"
Journey Don't Stop Believing Live Las Vegas 2008
"Journey Revelation DVD "
Arnel Pineda Journey CBS News Sunday Morning Interview, from youtube.com
"Aired: June 1, 2008 "
*see GoodnewsEverybody Asian-Filipino
Journey - Don't Stop Believing (The Zoo), from youtube.com
all day long they press their attack.
2 My slanderers pursue me all day long;
many are attacking me in their pride.
3 When I am afraid,
I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mortal man do to me?
5 All day long they twist my words;
they are always plotting to harm me. "-Psalm 56
"PARIS, FRANCE (ANS) -- Ingrid Betancourt, the French Colombian Presidential political candidate who was held captive by FARC guerillas for more than six years, recently reflected on her captivity and the role that her faith played in helping her to cope.
Ingrid Betancourt with Alan Johnston in Paris (photo via BBC website)
She revealed her thoughts in an interview with Alan Johnston of the BBC, who was himself held captive four months last year in Gaza by a group called the Army of Islam.
While Johnston waited to meet Betancourt in a room overlooking the banks of the Seine, in Paris's famous old city hall, the Hotel de Ville, he compared their experiences.
He says he considered the length of their captivity and the conditions under which they were held. He recalled how in their very different prisons, half a world apart, their guards gave them both battered old radios.
"Through the BBC's broadcasts, in my cell, I had followed Ingrid's story. And later I learned that, in her jungle hideout, she had followed mine," Johnston writes on the BBC website.
"When Ingrid opened the door in Paris and walked in we embraced, and then sat down and began to talk -- one kidnap victim to another.
"Almost straight away I told her that of course my experience could hardly be compared to hers. I was freed in less than four months, and she was forced to endure all those years under much harsher conditions."
But they also differed in one major way.
"I am grateful to the many people who I know were kind enough to pray for me when I was lost in Gaza. But actually, I was not praying myself," Johnston said.
"I would hear on the radio of war and bloodshed in places like DR Congo, and I felt that if God was not intervening to spare the innocent there, I could not see quite why He might intervene for me."
Johnston said he struggles to believe that God closely manages our individual lives.
But Ingrid's faith seems to have been a huge factor in her survival, he said.
"She said that I had simply not asked the right questions about God, and that it was our connection with Him that made us human. He was not creating the ills of the world, she said. Mankind had been given free will, and it was to blame. She said that not to believe, and to be cynical, was to take the easy path in life."
Betancourt talked too of forgiveness, Johnston said.
She was forgiving her captors, she said. "With some of them it was easy, but with others that was not the case," Johnston writes.
"She spent huge amounts of time in chains, and when I mentioned the noise that they make when you move, tears came to her eyes again. Some things, she said, she was not ready to talk about.
"And of whatever physical abuse she may have suffered she said: 'I have thought lots about all of this, and I've decided that there are things that will never be brought to the surface -- that have to stay in the jungle.'"
But she was delighted to remember that moment when the Colombian army managed to set her free, Johnston said she recalled.
"Oh my God! I tell you, it was a physical reaction! It was a physical sensation and it was so overwhelming that I screamed!"
It was "a long, long, long scream," Betancourt said.
Johnston asked Betancpurt what she had learned about human nature in captivity.
"I learned everything about human nature," she said. "I learned for example how weak we are in front of group pressure -- how we can even see people saying exactly the opposite of what they feel because they are afraid."
Johnston said he remembered his time in Gaza mostly as a vast psychological battle. It was a constant effort to try, as he used to say to myself, to keep his mind in the right place.
Betancourt has talked of the same struggle as being the fight to keep her "head above water."
Johnston said that it seemed that for both of them there was a critical point at which they accepted that they might not be freed for a very long time. Then they tried to adapt psychologically to that dreadful reality.
"Once I admitted that I was there for a long time, then I began to look at my surroundings in another way," Betancourt said. "Like, 'this is my world and I'm going to be here for a long time'."
Then, they agreed, came the fight to try to hold on to their self-respect.
"I told her I used to think to myself that one day my kidnapping might end, and that I must attempt to do my best -- if at all possible -- not to behave in a way that I would be ashamed of late," Johnston said.
"Yes!" she replied. "That's the point, that was exactly…That was always my perspective.
"I wanted to think, one day I will see this like my past and I don't want to be ashamed and I don't want my children to be ashamed of me. That was very important."
"Countdown to Eternity is a high quality film production, ideal for reaching your unsaved friends and family!
For a very long time there has not been such an exciting and EFFECTIVE WITNESSING TOOL available to show family, friends and those interested in the important questions and eternal issues. The Countdown to Eternity uses current footage and research to examine and present a provocative look at the signs of the times.
The Bible is authenticated through the fulfillment of prophecy. No other book can truthfully make the claim of foretelling the future with 100% accuracy. The Bible transcends time and space and stands above all the other books that have ever been written. What does the future hold? Find out for yourself?
Exciting things are happening! A message of hope and salvation!
A fascinating look at the biblical signs of the times which indicate Christs Second Coming. Also shows that the Bible has been authenticated through the fulfillment of past prophecy.
This film is a powerful soul-winning tool that has already won the hearts of thousands of unbelievers and skeptics.
The Bible lays out mankinds destiny in the last days! Are you prepared?"
"This series on Faith is taken from my book �100 faith facts A concise Study on Bible Faith.� In this video series we take chapter excerpts from the book and teach on various aspects of the God Kind of faith. We look at What is Faith? Different Types of Faith, What Faith Accomplishes, The God of Our Faith, and How to use Faith. These are just excerpts, full teachings and chapters are included in the book. This Video looks at What is Faith. Written Chapter Excerpt at:
http://www.spiritandword.org.uk/teachingresources.htm "
"This website is a project of Michael F. (asked to delete the site above on 4/30/13) which began by God's grace in 1997 and moved to this domain name in the year 2000. Michael's testimony can be found here.
Michael lives with his wife Marilena (who is actively involved in the video/TV ministry) and his daughters Lisa and Christina in the general region of Brisbane, in Queensland Australia. Michael has preached the gospel in many nations, including Romania, USA, Canada and certain countries in Asia with signs and wonders following. ...
Receive Miraculous Faith and Confidence through Obeying Christ
""Whatever we ask from Him we receive, because we keep His commandments and do those things which are pleasing in His sight."
A forgotten faith key is to actually OBEY the Lord! When you obey God, and submit to His Word and His Spirit, something happens in your heart that enables you to have confidence that your own prayers will be answered.
In this way, you'll be able to keep drawing on God's supply by faith, and being a blessing to others, loving them as Christ loved you."
People admonish us to “Remember 9:11†( Pearl Harbor …etc.) ...so that we learn something…so that we do not repeat mistakes.
While some things are meant to be remembered, other things are best forgotten. The word “remember†is used 233 times in the Bible. God commands us to remember what He has done for us, but He also tells us to forget.
God Himself has a perfect memory when it comes to remembering His promises to us. Yet our compassionate God is also capable of forgetting. Because of Jesus’ death for us, God has chosen to totally forget our sins.
God FORGETS:
"I, even I, am He who blots out
your transgressions, for My own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.â€
Isaiah 43:18-19, 25
Isaiah 65:17
"Behold, I will create
new heavens and a new earth.
The former things will not be remembered
nor will they come to mind.
Jeremiah 31:33-34
"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel
after that time," declares the LORD.
"I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
No longer will a man teach his neighbor,
or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD.
"For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more."
God REMEMBERS:
Psalm 105:8-9
He remembers his covenant forever,
the word he commanded, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
the oath he swore to Isaac.
Psalm 115:12-13
The LORD remembers us and will bless us:
He will bless the house of Israel ,
he will bless the house of Aaron,
He will bless those who fear the LORD—
small and great alike.
Luke 12:6
Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies ? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
Deuteronomy 4:31
For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
Isaiah 44:21
"Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you.
Isaiah 49:15
"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!
We FORGET:
Isaiah 43:18-19
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Philippians 3:12-14
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
We REMEMBER:
Deuteronomy 6:10
When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers…to give you-a land with (v11) houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide,…) …then, when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
When the LORD your God gives you rest… Do not forget!
I will meditate on all Your works and consider Your mighty deeds.
I will remember the deeds of the LORD. Yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.
Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-
Remember the wonders he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
O descendants of Abraham his servant,
O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.
The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me.
Mark 8:18-21
"And don’t you remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?â€
"Twelve," they replied.
"And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?â€
They answered, "Seven."
He said to them, “Do you still not understand?â€
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David.
Nancy B. (Hancock, MN)
*church family member, whose family was a "victim" of a "house fire" in 2007!
...see GoodnewsEverybody.com Blessings, Grateful, Thankful, etc... to help NOT forget what God has done during current or future trials or challenges we face in life!
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