The apostle Paul said that: “The just shall live by faith” (Gal 3:11b; NKJV) and that he lived his life by faith in Jesus (Gal 2:20b). The writer of Hebrews made our need of faith quite clear when he said, “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb 11:6; NKJV). Faith is having absolute trust and confidence in God (2 Tim 3:15; AMP). In Hebrews we read that, Faith is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:2; ESV). Jesus taught us that when we pray, when we speak our requests, we must believe that we receive what we ask for, even though we may not see the tangible manifestation immediately (Mark 11:22-24). This manifestation may take time to occur and we will need to mix patience with our faith (Heb 6:12). I like to think of faith as knowing that we know, that we know that God’s promises to us are always yes and amen (2 Cor 1:20) and will come to pass. In the epistle of James, we are told that there is no room for doubting, we must be consistent in faith, the “double minded man” will not “receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-8; NKJV). God has given us all a “measure of faith” (Rom 12:3b; NKJV). We can grow and develop that faith by studying God’s word in our Bibles (Rom 10:17) and “praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20; NKJV); that is praying as directed by the Holy Spirit and in tongues. Let’s all strive to be powerful faith-filled Christians.

“So encourage each other and build each other up just as you are already doing” (1 Thess 5:11; NLT). We also see the words, “encourage one another” in Heb 10:25. Our speech should also encourage others (Eph 4:29) In that verse the words build up and edify are used instead of encourage in some translations. 1 Thess 5:14 tells us to encourage the disheartened and Gal 6:2 tells us to carry each other’s burdens. Jesus was an encourager as we see in the gospels, He frequently told the people He was relating to not to fear but to, “cheer up.” For example, when the disciples were caught in a storm Jesus told them to, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid” (Matt 14:27; NKJV). Then in John 16:33 He says, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (NKJV). It doesn’t get more encouraging than that! The early church also made encouragement a part of their ministry. We read in Acts 13:15 that Paul and Barnabas were asked if they had any word of encouragement for the church in Antioch and they did! (Acts 16:40; See also Acts 18:27, 20:1-2, 27:36). So, I encourage you today to look for ways you can encourage someone, whether it be a note, a phone call, text or kind word; that way you will be a doer of the word and pleasing to God.

I was in a public place the other day and saw a sign that said, “Words Matter.” This was obviously referring to verbal abuse in the workplace but as Christians this is very applicable to us too. The Bible has much to say about our words. Psalm 19:1 says,” Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord” (NKJV). How can we make sure that our words are acceptable to God? Firstly, we need to think before we speak (Ps 141:3, Prov 21:23, 17:27, 28, James 1:19). If we do this, we are less likely to speak angry words, “A soft answer turns away wrath” (Prov 15:1,2). Our words are powerful, with them we can speak life or death over a person’s life (Prov 18:21). Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:25 not to lie but to speak the truth. In verse 29 of the same chapter, he tells us that our words should encourage others. Then in Colossians 4:6 we learn that our speech should be “gracious” (pleasant or kind) (see also Prov 16:24). These are all things that are pleasing to God. The letter of James devotes a whole chapter to the tongue and James 1:26 says that our Christianity is worthless if we don’t control our tongues. Matthew, in his gospel, tells us that we will have to account for every care less words we speak on judgment day. In addition to watching what we say and how we speak, our words can also speak our faith (Mark 11:23) but that’s a topic for another day!

In Exodus 20:3, God gave a clear commandment to His people Israel, “You shall have no other gods before Me” (NKJV). To me this means we should not let any person or thing become a priority over our relationship with God. Jesus took the command further in quoting Deut 6:5, He told us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt 22:37). We are to worship and serve only God (Matt 4:10) and to delight in and meditate on His word (Ps 1:2). Making God our head is a sacrificial process, humbly putting Him first in all that we are, do and think. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 16:24-25; NKJV). As we give Christ our lives, we will find the kind of life that God has for us; an abundant, fulfilling life, serving as His ambassadors on this earth (John 10:10b, 2 Cor 5:20). Jesus said that if we love Him and obey His words then He and the Father will, “make Our home” with us (John 14:23; NKJV), Jesus lives in us (Rom 8:9-10). As we submit all of our plans, visions and aspirations to the Lord He will make sure they are in line with His will, therefore guaranteeing us success, peace and fulfillment (Prov 16:3). Lord, I lay my life down before You today, have Your way.