Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.”Rom. 10:11 (MSG)
Yesterday, at the time of this writing, my pastor spoke from the book of Genesis about how Abram (later Abraham) picked up and left everything to follow God and his plan for his life. Today I sent the following message to him.
Hi Pastor,
I could relate to your message yesterday. When I was 20, God called me into the ministry. Three weeks after I turned 21, I left Tulsa, my budding, stable career with PSO, family, and friends, and drove 1640 miles to Acton, MA.
I took a position in an Assembly of God church that was new, and they said they couldn’t pay me a salary. Yet I had a car payment, a student loan to pay back (with no Joe Biden’s help), and living costs. My father forbade me from going. (I was not living under his roof at the time.) Also, I lost my best friend over it because he thought I should obey my father. Yet I knew God told me to go, and I wanted to “trust” Him and obey.
God was faithful, and everything got paid. I learned so much about following God back then. It has truly been the greatest adventure one could ever live! I, too, desire for everyone to experience that kind of relationship with God, and that is the basis of my blogs.
In closing, I sensed the Holy Spirit whisper to me yesterday while you were speaking, “Because you trusted me and obeyed, I have poured out my blessings upon you ever since.”
Romans 10:11 is so true! You don’t follow God for what you can get from him. He simply likes to bless his children who believe so strongly in him. One can never follow God too closely.
And 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. Heb. 11:6 (NIV)
6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”7 Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8 Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. Gal. 3:6-9 (NIV)
I first heard of Jesus at the dinner table. Mom and Dad were talking about him. Really, everybody was. Here was this man going around the area teaching people how to live within the laws but beyond the law Moses had given us. He was also healing people, a lot of people. Word had it Jesus was coming to where I lived. This was amazing to me. I couldn’t wait.
The parts of his story that Mom and Dad struggled to believe I accepted. So what if he was born to a woman in Bethlehem? Isn’t that how everyone enters life? Besides, growing up here, he knew and understood how hard life was for us, especially for a kid, in these parts. In general, women were mistreated, but kids were treated even worse. In my culture, kids were the lowest of the pecking order. Some even considered us disposable.
On the day Jesus arrived, I packed a pretty good lunch for myself. My family headed out early. We wanted to get a good spot so we could see everything. Apparently, everyone else had the same idea. There were so many people there. I think the whole town must have closed up shop. I mean, there were at least 5,000, and that’s just counting the men. I don’t have any idea how many women and kids were there because we didn’t count, remember?
When Jesus arrived, he climbed high upon a rock so that most people could see and hear him. His teachings were like nothing I had ever heard before! At times, he would take a break from teaching and heal people. It was in those moments that everyone would really pay attention to what he was doing.
The next thing we knew, it was getting pretty late in the day. People were starting to listen more to their stomachs than to Jesus. I don’t know how in the world Jesus wasn’t hungry. He must have been in the spirit; therefore, he was not aware of the things of this world. He had been working hard for the biggest part of the day. It was about this time his disciples noticed the crowd stirring. One of them approached Jesus, interrupting his teaching. You could tell he didn’t want to do this, but either he was the boldest of the twelve, or he drew the shortest straw of grass. Later, I heard someone call him Peter.
I’m not sure exactly what Jesus said to him, but Peter gave him a look I had given my mother a few times. That look that says, “Are you kidding me?” Someone behind me must have been able to read lips because he was telling people that Jesus had just told Peter to feed us. Hah! You have got to be kidding. No wonder Peter gave Jesus that look. Everybody who was realizing what was said began to laugh. I started thinking, “Well, if everybody gave some of what they had brought and we put it all together, everybody would get something at least.”
I watched as the disciples went around trying to collect food from everyone, anyone, but people were saying no or lying about bringing food altogether. I don’t understand this. I know people brought food. Why wouldn’t they turn it over? I heard a lot of grumbling and complaining. “I’m not about to give what I brought! It just isn’t enough!” Another said, “Jesus must be crazy!” One said, “Why doesn’t he just end this and send everyone back home?” Still, another said, “It’s such a small amount. What could Jesus do with this?”
I started getting very upset with these people. I thought, “What’s wrong with them? They have just heard one of the best sermons. You’re telling me that they have already forgotten what Jesus said? And they haven’t even gotten dismissed yet! And what about the miracles they’ve just witnessed? Did that not stir their hearts or build their faith? This is the Son of God here, people!”
I told my mother I was going to give over the food I had brought. She patted me on the back and said, “Honey, you really don’t have to do that. Jesus will certainly understand.” “But mom!” I replied. “This is Jesus.” She studied my face for what seemed like forever and said with such tenderness, “Then you go ahead.”
I think Thomas is the disciple who I handed over my food to. He looked at me, patted me on the head, and said, “Ah, thanks, kid, but I doubt this will help at all.” I looked at him squarely in the eyes and said, “Look, just place it in the hands of Jesus.” He just froze there for a bit and then assured me he would.
It seemed as if it didn’t take that long for the twelve to make their way through the crowd. The disciples handed over to Jesus what they had collected. He looked at it for a while as one disappointed. Disappointed, perhaps, because only one in the crowd, without understanding “how,” gave. Then Jesus instructed that the men were to be seated in groups of fifty. I didn’t think this was for Jesus’ benefit but for ours. I believe he wanted the people to know just how great this miracle was going to be.
Jesus then took the food, looked up to his Heavenly Father, and prayed over it. Then he broke it and handed it to his disciple. The disciple broke it and passed it on. It was as if Jesus was saying, “Pass the blessing on.” One man after the other broke the bread and the fish and passed it on to the next man. Finally, it made its way back to me. I smiled… I knew Jesus was awesome, but to take so little and do something great with it, wow! After everyone had seemed to eat enough, not even trying to save room for dessert, Jesus commanded his disciples to gather the leftovers. Would you believe there were twelve baskets of food left over? You talk about “The God of more than enough.” it was then I noticed that those who withheld their food looked ashamed.
To the day I died, people called me “The Food Man.” I’m not sure if it’s because I went on to feed people through the food pantry I ran or because of the day I gave Jesus my lunch, but I never let go of the truth of putting anything in God’s hand, no matter how small and watch him do something mighty with it.
(The actual account can be found in the Bible. John 6:1-15)
If you have never had your own encounter with Jesus Christ, know that you can. He is waiting for you to accept his offer of forgiveness for your sins. With that begins a relationship that brings hope, encouragement, comfort, and guidance with the added bonus of eternal life. Along the way, you can ask for help with anything. Problems in life, relationships, and healing. Having a relationship with Jesus is the best thing you will ever do with your life. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are real. So are heaven and hell. There are no other alternatives. Encounter Jesus and change your life.
We used to sing the song in Sunday School. “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” As I continue to read from the book of Psalms, it is clear that the Psalmists knew God was in control of the world despite what they saw. It’s a comforting thought if you believe it.
When you intently believe something, you should live your life accordingly. Yes, watching the evening news can be upsetting. The media thrives, and gets ratings by feeding on your fears! They predict doom and gloom is coming. But the truth is, Jesus is coming! He is coming to rapture, take those who call him “Lord of their lives” home. Then, the world will get what it thinks it wants.
Psalm 104 from The Message
1-14 O my soul, bless God!
God, my God, how great you are! beautifully, gloriously robed, Dressed up in sunshine, and all heaven stretched out for your tent. You built your palace on the ocean deeps, made a chariot out of clouds and took off on wind-wings. You commandeered winds as messengers, appointed fire and flame as ambassadors. You set earth on a firm foundation so that nothing can shake it, ever. You blanketed earth with ocean, covered the mountains with deep waters; Then you roared and the water ran away— your thunder crash put it to flight. Mountains pushed up, valleys spread out in the places you assigned them. You set boundaries between earth and sea; never again will earth be flooded. You started the springs and rivers, sent them flowing among the hills. All the wild animals now drink their fill, wild donkeys quench their thirst. Along the riverbanks the birds build nests, ravens make their voices heard. You water the mountains from your heavenly reservoirs; earth is supplied with plenty of water. You make grass grow for the livestock, hay for the animals that plow the ground.
14-23 Oh yes, God brings grain from the land, wine to make people happy, Their faces glowing with health, a people well-fed and hearty. God’s trees are well-watered— the Lebanon cedars he planted. Birds build their nests in those trees; look—the stork at home in the treetop. Mountain goats climb about the cliffs; badgers burrow among the rocks. The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day. When it’s dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper. When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens. Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening.
24 What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
By now, most of us have probably heard one minister or another tells us that the distance from the Red Sea to the Promise Land was an eleven-day walk. So the Israelites could have gone from captivity and slavery to a land flowing with milk and honey after a few days of walking. What happened? You might be asking. “Fear.” The majority of them listened to the ten spies who reported why they couldn’t take the land God was giving them instead of the two men of God full of faith. The ten assumed they were being called to battle. They failed to understand the battle is the Lord’s!
The result of listening to men who struggled with fear instead of God was walking in the desert for forty years. This is so difficult for me to understand, They had just witnessed God separating the Red Sea, and they walked to the other side on dry ground, and then, if that wasn’t enough to prove God’s mighty power, they watched as He closed the Red Sea drowning, eradicating their enemy! Faith should have been the last thing they lacked.
I know I have not walked in their sandals, but I would like to think I would have agreed with the men of faith who reported they could do it. It seems that many people will listen to men instead of God. No, they may not wander in a desert as a result, but they certainly do miss out on everything God has for them.
It seems as if some, who do not know God personally, have more respect for Him and his power than some believers do! I guarantee Israel’s enemies were scared. Imagine the testimony to all who are watching your life, whether you realize it or not, when they see God’s mighty hand at work in you. Have you ever thought about the fact that percentage-wise, there are only a handful of ministries in the world that are affecting the world for God’s glory? That is because those leaders dared to believe God instead of men!
Has God instructed you to go or do something that looks impossible for a mortal man? Remember this:
Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans, but for God all things are possible.” Mat. 19:26 (NET)
If He has, go for it. Follow God every step as He leads you into the land He desires to give you. Put your foot in the exact same spot where God’s foot just left. Don’t look to the left or the right. Don’t expect your journey to take place the same way God did it for someone else either. Cover your ears if you have to so you aren’t tempted to listen to negative thoughts.
When I was accepting my first position as a youth minister at a church that said they couldn’t pay me a salary, my father told me I was crazy and forbade me to go. I was twenty-one and hadn’t lived under his roof for three years. I listened to my heavenly Father, who told me to go. I listened to the CEO of heaven instead, and without a salary from the church, my needs were met.
Let’s face it, faith is difficult. It’s not hard to find it as we all start with a measure of it, according to the word of God. (Rom. 12:3b) But growing your faith is something else. One of the best ways is to listen to testimonies. If God can do it for them, then it’s possible for him to do it for us. That’s one of the reasons we have the Bible. Reading the stories of God doing the impossible when a solution looked improbable. Also, faith grows by hearing the word of God, according to Romans 10:17.
We can use our invisible faith to believe in the invisible God!
If we learned anything from 2020 we should have learned that no one knows what a year will bring us. Some had good years while others have bad years before Covid, and I have even heard of a few thankful people for 2020. What? Yeah, some have given thanks that the pandemic forced them to slow down, take a survey of what was really important in life, while others are grateful for the time they got to spend with their immediate families.
Businesses found out people can work from home, which reduced commuting, which reduced pollution, which has allowed nature to return to some areas where it has not been seen for a long time. There are other things to be seen that we often loose site of when things are going well. Like how precious life itself is, and how valuable time is. By taking walks, some saw the beauty of nature again.
You know, perhaps 2020 did open our eyes after all, if you were looking. So the point to this blog has to be, “open your eyes, and keep them open”. Always be looking for the invisible in life. Always be looking for God, because he speaks, he ministers and he teaches us despite any circumstances going on around us.
CARALYN, a popular blogger at, beautybeyondbones.com who has shared her testimony of recovering from anorexia with God’s help, also shares her day to day life while living in the big apple (New York City).
The other day she shared how she has not gone to mass in person for about four months, due to Covid-19, and how she started noticing her faith waning. She realized how she had been relying on other places to do the work that was needed to increase her faith. Meaning, she wasn’t creating an environment on her own that would do the job. She admitted she was developing “Good Person Christianity”. (She explains that term in her blog post.) I suggested, via my comment, that perhaps God was using this time to show her how strong her faith was without any props holding her up. She went on to describe her plan to change things.
It is in times, like our current days, faith is not formed, but displayed. These days our faith may be tested or challenged, but at the end of it all, you will know how solid your faith is.
In these times, what you believe in, or who,
begins to show, or starts to go.
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” James 1:2-4 (MSG)
So, you got this. Stand firm on what you know to be true despite what you hear and see. The days preceding these have prepared you for this hour, and like time, this will be over before you know it, and we will move on to sharknadoes, or something else.
I love the story, in the Bible, of the woman with the issue of blood. Not because of her sickness, but because of her faith. In case you don’t know it, she bled for 12 years. Broke, and tired of being considered, “unclean” she thought, “If I could just touch the hem of his garment, I would be healed.” She did, and she was.
To share some personal reflections concerning the time we are living in: you hear some talking about we are in “end times”. “End times”, meaning the last days on earth as we enter into the days described in a book of the Bible, “Revelation”. It’s easy to see a path where the world will try to come together and form a “One World Order”. Using one currency, anywhere in the world. Buying and selling by placing a chip in one’s hand or forehead. They would first tell us this is how we have to have our Coronavirus vaccination. Of course some call that chip, “The Mark of the Beast”. Crazy? No. The Bible talks about it and it may not look exactly like that, but it will happen.
I also think after this first round of the virus you will see a lot of people move out of the “hot spots” and into smaller cities. Especially now, realizing they can work remotely.
What does all that have to do with those who still believe in God, and the women mentioned at the top of this post?
We will need to have the kind of faith the woman had. To believe God, no matter what so many others may be trying to convince us of. To ignore their passion, beliefs, and convictions so we can concentrate on what God says. Provisions could get scarce tempting us to cave and go along with the multitudes just to survive. Could we put the carcass of a chicken in a pot at night and believe God for a whole chicken in that pot by the next morning? Why not? I heard a testimony of this actually happening. Is that any harder to believe for than thinking you would be healed just because you managed to touch only the hem of Jesus’ garment?
My point is this: As the days get harder, and on the outside scarier, will we maintain our faith? Will we do what it takes to go against the crowd and reach out to touch the hem of Jesus’ garment? I say this, When you reach out and touch Jesus’ garment don’t let go! Hang on till the very end.
DAY 1A man’s daughter was struck with a sudden severe illness that required her to be put on life support. The man captioned this event “The Psalms 23 Experience”. He felt his family, “walking through the valley of the shadow of death”, they feared no evil, because they knew God was with them. He believed this in spite of all the negative reports they received, at the hospital, on day one.
We judge most things by what we hear and see. We tend to believe these things because our flesh perceived them first, but what if there was climate change? What if we created an environment that showed God our faith? What would happen if we allowed our spirit to perceive God? If we began to hear what God said about the situation we were in?
If you’re going to pray for rain, bring an umbrella.
The man, whose daughter was sick, spoke of setting up an environment that gave God an opportunity to do some of his best work. They played Spirit Spa instrumental worship. They spoke of healing while in the hospital room, but they first “asked” God for what they wanted him to do.
Asking God, is huge!
I know, and agree, in the moment, we often believe what we hear and see. We too many times take the first words spoken in a situation as truth. The only truth. It’s okay to acknowledge truth, but appeal to the One who can make things more true. It was true the man’s daughter was sick, but what was more true was the fact, God, was going to heal her.
DAY 17The man’s daughter returned home with a clean bill of health. God, had the final word. God, was the last one, to speak.
Every day, about 4:10 PM, I see a Southwest Airlines jet flying over my house, if I am outside at the time, and if the wind is blowing from the south. I did some research and found the plane starts in Dallas, TX. as flight #21, flies to Houston, TX. and changes its flight number to #449. It’s known as a “scheduled” flight.
Schedules are nice. You can count on them, but life doesn’t follow a schedule.
There can be things you are standing at the gate waiting to arrive and they don’t arrive. A contract, a bonus check, a meeting with someone you are hoping will lead to new ventures. Disappointment, discouragement, and disconnection can set in. “Now what?” you might be asking yourself, or “What am I going to do?”
Even when you are a believer in God, and you have heard all the sermons, and have seen all the Facebook post that tell you, “God’s got this”, or “All things work together for the good of those who love God”, in that moment, it doesn’t feel like it.
Faith in God is hard. We are such tangible creatures. We want to see, we want to hear, and we want to touch. Doing so seems so comforting. We even have phrases like, “I wouldn’t have believed it, if I hadn’t of seen it with my own eyes.” It is so easy for us to have doubt, about our lives, our choices, decisions and yes, even about God.
Why is doubt easier to have than faith?
What doubt really does is rob you! It steals from you joy. The real issue though, is It diminishes the size of the miracle when God works it all out in your life in a way that is best for you. Can’t you hear Thomas, the disciple, after reaching his hand inside the opening where the Roman soldier pierced Jesus on the cross, saying, “I knew it was him. Yep, I believed Jesus when he told us he would rise again after being dead for three days.” I don’t mean any disrespect to Thomas, but I picture him as Deputy Barney Fife from “The Andy Griffith Show”.
You see the truth is this; faith grows, becomes more real, when you have no idea how it’s going to work out, or even when, but you trust God anyway. You place it in his hands and then force yourself not to take it back a few days later.
Just because at 4:10 PM, if I am outside and looking up, I don’t see flight 449 making its final decent into Tulsa International Airport, doesn’t mean it wasn’t scheduled to fly that day. It simply means, the wind was blowing out of the north.
Perhaps in your life, the Spirit of God is blowing in a direction you are not aware of. Trust anyway, because the love of God is always on schedule.
I was facing several issues the other day. To be honest, they overwhelmed me. I cried out to God to ask why was this happening, and how am I going to pay for it all? (My first ungodly belief (UGB) was thinking that I was going to pay for it all. Everything my wife and I have comes from God, He pays for it all.) I spoke to a couple of others about it, and they were encouraging, but it still consumed my thoughts. I got mad, complained, and cried, to no avail, because I felt the same after each one of my flesh’s outburst.
THEN,
I got quiet. I had asked God for enough money to get through this and upcoming consumers of money issues, but He whispered, “Have I not provided what you have need of today?” “Yes, Lord. You have,” I replied. “Then what’s the problem?” He said.
My thoughts turned to the children of Israel, who were commanded of God to only take enough mana for what they needed that day, except on Saturday’s they collected what they would need for two days. If they took more than they needed it would spoil. (Exodus 16:4-26)
If God gave me more, than I needed for today,
would it spoil me?
“The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.” Hebrews 11:1-2 The Message (MSG)
Faith can be difficult at times, but for a believer in God, it must remain in tack despite what our eyes see, despite the news, and despite the balance of our bank account. After all, it’s just life.
CARALYN, a popular blogger at, 
Every day, about 4:10 PM, I see a Southwest Airlines jet flying over my house, if I am outside at the time, and if the wind is blowing from the south. I did some research and found the plane starts in Dallas, TX. as flight #21, flies to Houston, TX. and changes its flight number to #449. It’s known as a “scheduled” flight.
I was facing several issues the other day. To be honest, they overwhelmed me. I cried out to God to ask why was this happening, and how am I going to pay for it all? (My first ungodly belief (UGB) was thinking that I was going to pay for it all. Everything my wife and I have comes from God, He pays for it all.) I spoke to a couple of others about it, and they were encouraging, but it still consumed my thoughts. I got mad, complained, and cried, to no avail, because I felt the same after each one of my flesh’s outburst.
brady, mark a. 