Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT) Faith is required for you to live the kind of life you want. 1 John 5:4 (NLT) says, For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. It is faith that causes us to overcome. According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is being fully persuaded. It is having an immovable belief that comes from the heart. How do you learn to have that kind of faith? First you need hope. Hope is not the same as faith-it is more like a precursor. We build on hope to have faith. According to its biblical definition, hope is a …

What do you mean, “If I can?” Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes. Mark 9:23 (NLT) Mark 9 tells the story of a man who came to Jesus with a son who was horribly afflicted. To this father’s horror, his son had thrown himself into water and fire numerous times.  Frustrated and desperate, the father said to Jesus, Have mercy on us and help us, if you can (v. 22). Jesus replied, What do you mean, ‘If I can’? Then He added, Anything is possible if a person believes (v. 23, NLT).  God always wants to help. The question is: do we believe? It’s not enough to just mentally agree with a promise in God’s Word. It is the beliefs of your …

My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22 (NLT) When things seem to happen effortlessly for you in a certain area, you can bet that your heart holds positive beliefs about that area of your life. For example, if you are healthy and you have always taken good care of your body, your heart likely holds great beliefs about health. On the other hand, if you constantly struggle in an area, it’s time to take a look at what you believe. If you struggle to build strong relationships, your heart-beliefs about …

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3 (NLT) When you face a struggle in life, whether that might be in your health, finances, marriage, relationships, emotions or sense of self-worth, do you wait for God to do something about it? Many people have been taught to simply pray and then wait to see if God will do something. I’d like to propose a different approach. You can understand the Word and consistently build your life in a number of areas. God has freely given us all things …

My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Proverbs 4:20 (NLT) When I worked in emergency rescue, one day I was performing CPR on a patient in the back of the ambulance when my driver forgot to close the air vents. As we raced over gravel roads, dust began to fill the ambulance. A pesticide must have settled onto the road from a recent spraying because this dust suddenly made my breathing very difficult. As soon as we arrived at the hospital and had placed the patient in the hands of the emergency doctors, I motioned to a nurse to help me. I was gasping for air, barely getting enough oxygen in to keep me conscious. They immediately went to …