Increase Your Faith

By Larry Ollison, Ph.D. 
 
In John 8:31-32, Jesus said, “If you abide in My Word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

One reason I quote this verse so often is because it typifies God’s will for you. God’s will is that you be set free. But set free from what? 

First of all, God wants, of course, for you to have eternal, everlasting life. That’s why He sent Jesus to earth to live and die in the first place. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

But everlasting life doesn’t mean just living forever. You will live forever anyway, whether you believe in Jesus or not. The question is where will you live. Will you live forever in His presence, in the glory of heaven or will you live for all eternity separated from Him and His love. One way is eternal life. The other is eternal death. 

God sent His Son, Jesus, to set us free from eternal death and those of us who believe in Him have the assurance of everlasting life. 

However, when Jesus said that if we would abide in His Word, we would know the truth and be set free, He wasn’t just talking about being set free from eternal death. He was also talking about being set free from the bondages that are here, now, on earth. 

Many Christians live their entire lives under the bondages of sickness, poverty and the letter of the law. When Jesus came to set us free, He came to set us free completely. 

Romans 8:2 says, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” And in John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” 

If this is true, then why are so many Christians still under bondage? Why are they not set free? 

Well, here’s the answer. God said in His Word, over and over again, that it is faith that causes His promises to take effect. In other words, when God promises something in His Word, we must believe that what He promised is the truth and that it will come to pass. 

But, we must not just believe that it can come to pass in someone else’s life, but we must believe that it will come to pass in our own life. Why? Because God said it would, and we believe God. It’s when God’s promise gets from your head and into your heart where you know it that it is faith. 

Jesus came to set us free from everything that binds us. And we can be set free, if we can believe that we will be set free. In the town of Nazareth, Jesus taught the good news of the kingdom, but unlike the other villages who received His teachings, Nazareth did not. 

Because they didn’t believe the words of Jesus, Jesus could not do any great miracles there. Mark 6:5 says, “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief.” 

We must not be like the people of Nazareth. Only when we believe God’s Word completely will we receive the fullness of abundant life. God’s will is for you to be set free. Not just in eternity, but today. 

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Heart vs. Head 
By Kenneth E. Hagin 
 
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding” (Prov. 3:5). 

Your own understanding is simply your own mental processes — your own human thinking. In other words, we could read this verse, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own head.” 

Faith will work in your heart with doubt in your head! Many Christians are defeated because when a doubt enters their mind, they say, “I’m doubting.” But Jesus didn’t say, “… and shall not doubt in his head.” Jesus said, “… and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe…” (Mark 11:23). It’s heart faith that gets the job done — not head faith. 

Some of the greatest miracles that have ever happened in my life came when I began to make such faith statements as, “I believe from my heart that I receive my healing” — even though my head was saying, “It’s not so. It’s not so!” (And I was healed of two serious organic heart problems and an incurable blood disease in my almost totally paralyzed body.) 

Do you ever have trouble with your head? Then just trust in the Lord with all your heart (not your head), and lean not unto your own understanding! 

Confession: I trust in the Lord with all my heart. I do not lean to my own understanding. I believe from my heart that what God’s Word says is true. 

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Knowing God By Jerry Savelle

Many of God’s people are struggling and can’t seem to find out why nothing works for them anymore. Some are giving up and turning away. But for those who will remain faithful and determined to know their God, the best is yet to come. I believe God wants to pour out His blessings; however, we must be in a position to receive.

We read in Philippians of Paul’s dedicated life toward God. Paul reveals that his entire reason for existence was centered in Christ. Many Christians look at living the life of faith as a constant struggle, but Paul talks about a place in Christ where there is JOY in believing. I don’t know about you, but if there’s a place like that, I intend to get there.

What is faith? Faith is nothing more than believing God. If you have faith in someone, that just simply means you trust them and have confidence in them. There is a place in God where it becomes JOYFUL to trust Him.

If you were to say to some people, “Use your faith,” they would groan, “Oh, has it come to that?” Where’s the joy of believing? It’s only through knowing God that you can truly understand what Paul meant.

When your motivation for studying the Bible is so that you can know Him and not just to find some “secret formula,” then you will discover that your relationship will put you in a position to have your every need met. This is why Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God…” or in other words, PUT GOD FIRST IN YOUR LIFE, then “…all these things will be added unto you.”

The revelation from the Word of God that God wants to bless us is certainly valid; however, some people have become selfish, self-centered, and have no desire to know God. They only want what He’ll give them. Many people have never really entered into a “knowing” relationship with God. They know about Him, but they really don’t KNOW Him.

Because they don’t know Him, they tend to believe things about Him that are simply not true. Don’t just look for some “get-rich-quick” scheme. Study the Word in order to know Him more intimately.

When you truly know someone, you know his likes and dislikes. God knows you. He knows you so well that He has even numbered every hair on your head. He also knows the thought and intent of your heart. Now that’s intimate.

I hear Christians say, “I don’t know God’s will.” When you get to know Him, you’ll know His will. That’s the reason He wants you to know Him, so that He can reveal His will.

Many Christians can quickly determine the voice of the devil, but then they say, “God never talks to me.” How is it that you know the devil’s voice? Maybe you are spending too much time with the wrong fellow.

If my wife was to come into a room and I didn’t see her, I would be able to detect her voice when she started talking. Even with all the other voices, hers would become immediately apparent to me. Why? Because of intimate fellowship – union with each other. I know God because I spend time with Him. I know His voice because I’ve heard it often. When you really know Him, it becomes a joy to trust Him.

Source: Faith Building Daily Devotionals by Jerry Savelle

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