“So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).” Faith in the things of God comes by hearing the message of the Lord Jesus Christ, the gospel. Since it is impossible to please God without faith, it is the most vital thing to obtain as a christian. You had faith to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life, you believed without seeing. As we constantly meditate on God’s word day and night, we make our own way prosperous (Joshua 1:8). Then at one point our faith must be tested to grow more and more. It’s like a muscle, the more you use it, the more it grows. There is weak faith, strong faith, ever increasing faith, little faith, etc. It’s up to you which level of faith you want to be on. Trails in the life of christians come for many reasons. Sometimes there’s a self inflicted situation of trouble catching up with the bad seed you sowed against someone and you never made things right with that person. Then there’s the time when the word of God in you demands to be tested. Growth in faith comes from hearing the word and then putting it into practice in your everyday life against trials and crisis. God’s word covers all Issues of this life. The power of faith is backed by every word of God. The power of faith is released with your confession of God’s word concerning your specific challenge. Be careful what you hear, and say because faith works both ways for your good or for bad.

“Honor (esteem and value as precious) your father and your mother–this is the first commandment with a promise–[Exod. 20:12.] That all may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth.” Here’s another step towards having a longer life. To honor your father and mother can be difficult for some. If you’ve grown up in a family that has no honor about or in anything, honoring anyone is a problem. You’ve learned how to be dishonorable as a lifestyle growing up. Maybe your parents were not honorable people. But all of our negative background, bad environment, and up bringing in general can be remoulded into an honorable life with the Lord’s help. The teachings and precepts of God won’t change because you’re too lazy to work the word of God in your life. There is always a way of escaping all life’s struggles by living the life God intended for us to live. But it takes some work on our part. The constant warring between our flesh and our spirit will not be over until death. It is vital to learn how to fight using the words of the bible. Therein lies the power to resist temptations and to gain the strength to go forward in victory over being hurt. We must honor our father and mother to have a long life on the earth.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right, persevering, and steadfast spirit within me.”
David is speaking to God here about creating in himself a pure heart. What’s a pure heart in a spiritually dead person’s life. Before Jesus came and sacrificed His life for sin, no one had a truly pure heart in God’s eyes. Now David was the apple of God’s eye, but he was not a born again christian back then. When we go through the heart change of becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus, we receive a new heart, spiritually alive to God. What was the pure heart David wanted God to create in him. It all comes down to sin, wrong doings. David did some dastardly things before God, and he knew it was wrong. But God knew David didn’t have the power to resist sin like we can today. A pure heart back in the day was different than a pure heart today after the work at calvary. I believe David longed to walk uprightly before the Lord but his struggle was constantly a bit much, because he was still spiritually dead to God. Because of the sin nature in mankind in the old testament, they could never have what we have today thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.

“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law [that can bring a charge].” These are the fruits of the new recreated human spirit, not the Holy Spirit. When we are talking about fruit, that implies growth. The Holy Spirit is already perfect and has no need for growth. We have much need for growth in this area. We must unlearn all our flesh has learned from birth. Our flesh means our body appetites and our emotions that have ruled us. The fruit of our human spirits are the attributes of the Lord’s character and His holiness. All the fruit of the spirit lay on the bed of love. Without love, none of them would have the power to be expressed or to shine. As we renew our minds with God’s word, we begin to understand how all these things work together. It is a fight of faith we can win. Spirit against flesh has always been the internal battle we must conquer to be free, to be in a position to grow, and to live the victorious life the Lord has promised us.

“Have not I commanded you? Be strong, vigorous, and very courageous. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The Lord wouldn’t command us to be strong and courageous if we weren’t able or didn’t have the wherewithal to do so. His command is based on us understanding the power we have within us. Being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might is our portion as christians (Ephesians 6:10). We can overcome fear by walking in a greater dimension of the love of God planted in us at the new birth. Perfect love or mature love drives out fear (1John 4:18). We are in the army of the Lord which is indicative of being soldiers, battles are always coming. Learning how to fight is vital for not only our survival, but to advance the Kingdom of God on planet earth. Our enemy the devil searches throughout all the earth to seek who he can devour. He knows those who are prepared for battle and those who are not. But we have a champion to follow who already gave the devil a Holy beat down in hell. Learn how our Champion Jesus fought the devil and follow His lead (Matthew 4:1-11). Knowing for yourself He lives in you gives confidence we can be strong and very courageous.

“IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” This verse tells us of our heavenly position with Christ. It also keeps us informed of where to put our affections and our focus in life. We are in this world but shouldn’t be of it. Once our hearts are fixed on this world’s ways and desires, that will take us off course for the Lord’s plans for us. He wants us to not be pulled away from our rightful position in heaven while still living on earth. Once we put our affections on this world our hearts are pulled away from God’s way of living and your God given purpose, which doesn’t include loving this world. To set our hearts on things above we must be in constant fellowship with the Lord. Our lifestyle should be conducive to that of how Jesus lived on earth. He stayed in prayer, and made no moves of any kind without checking in with His Father God. He left the example for us to follow. But if we don’t know the life of Jesus on earth, we will subconsciously follow this world’s way of how to live which takes you further away from the Lord. Purpose to follow the Lord and your heart will be fixed on things above.

“THE Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack. He makes me lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside the still and restful waters. [Rev. 7:17.]” This verse is well known by many. It is David making his declaration that God will take care of him and will supply all of his needs. The shepherds that watch over sheep are to feed, guide, and protect them. This is what the Lord does for His sheepfold of christians. And sheep (christians) know His voice and will respond to Him, and Him only. The voice of a stranger they will not follow. We must learn to hear the Lord’s voice so we can distinguish His guidance from all the other many voices in this world. He leads us beside the still waters, which is indicative of peaceful surroundings. The Lord is also our strength and our shield. When the wolves come (trials, crisis, trouble) He has already made a way of escape. As we live, move and have our being in Christ Jesus, we find that place of refuge, comfort and restful peace. We become confident in knowing we are under His umbrella of protection. When we sheep go astray from the fold, we can more easily fall into diverse temptations. There is less guidance, and protection once we go off the beat and path of the Lord’s designated pasture we’re supposed to be in. The Lord is our Shepherd, let Him lead the way.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].” The tongue has the power of life and death. This is referring to your confession. What we say mixed with faith in what we’re saying brings creative power. Saying or confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart is the basis for becoming a christian. We have the use of the Holy Spirit with measure, which means individually we can and will have what we say over time. We speak ourselves into victory or defeat. Satan uses the power of our tongue to bring us down. He will bring temptation to you and if you take the bait, you will begin to speak that thing out of your mouth and as you believe it, the power is released against you. We say things like, “You’re killing me”, when someone makes you laugh really hard. Or something like ” You’ll never amount to anything in life”. These negative expressions are in our daily lives because of the demonic influences in the world. Most people are not aware of these spiritual truths, and laws. The devil has been using the power of the tongue against mankind for thousands of years. He knows our make-up, and understands how spiritual things work. He hates us because of God kicking him out of heaven, Lucifer was his name then (he was God’s worship leader in heaven). The meaning of his name from the old English Latin, is light bringing, morning star. In Isaiah 14:12 he is referred to as “son of the morning”. The power of the tongue is known by the dark side. Now you know, so run with it straight into victorious living.

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned or scorched, nor will the flame kindle upon you.” When the bible talks about passing through the waters, or the fire, it is indicative of big trouble or troubles. It’s saying as we walk through the fire we will not be burned. It is not saying we will be kept from the fire itself but the intervention of God takes place here so we pass through unscathed. Trouble and storms of life come to us all, there’s no escaping it. Learning how to pass through victoriously is key. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal first of all. We are wrestling against the principalities and powers of the air which are evil spirits behind the scenes working against Christians especially. We carry the light of the world and evil represents darkness. Light has to do with exposure and truth which they can’t deal with, and it reminds them of the Holy beat down Jesus gave Satan in hell. God will be with you through all of your struggles and crises or anything else. Walking through the valley of the shadow of death has no hold on the trusting believing christian that knows his or her authority in Christ. We should be on the offensive while God has our backs at every turn in life.

“No one has greater love [no one has shown stronger affection] than to lay down (give up) his own life for his friends.” You would think if a person today would lay down their life for a friend’s sake, that person could be a bit mentally off their rocker according to this world order. Most of us would be skeptical about dying for a family member. All this Jesus has done for us, to make us right with God. It was God’s love that sent His Son Jesus to die as a living sacrifice for our screw ups, and wrong doings. Justice had to be satisfied before the eyes of God, so love in action was given to the entire world. The Love of God goes against all we’ve learned as people in this life on planet earth. To be in this world but not of it takes God’s love working in you. It’s a sacrificial love when it needs to be. It’s an understanding love always. It’s a comforting love when needed, and won’t let anything separate us from the Lord loving us. There is no greater love exemplified in any way by anyone other than God. We are His children and He has commanded us to love one another, can we at least try. It’s an act of your will. Let’s make it happen for Jesus, because without Him we’d be lost.