When the Son of Man Comes, Will He find Faith in the Earth?

Jesus told the story of the widow who kept asking the ungodly judge to give her legal protection. He finally gave her what she wanted just to shut her up. Jesus contrasted this judge to God, and said that He will quickly bring justice for His people who are crying out to Him day and night. He then asks the question, "When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:1-8).

When Jesus returns, what will He find? Will He find a people who are persistent in prayer, bringing His justice into the earth? Or will He find that His people have given up and lost heart against the ungodly authorities in the earth? Will He find faith in the earth? Will the sound of the gospel be heard reverberating through the earth at His coming? Will His people be speaking His Word? Will we endure to the end, preaching, confessing, and proclaiming His Word?

Jesus said the gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14). The sound of His word, and the sound of faith in Him, is to be resounding in the earth! Who will be speaking the Word of God at the time of His return? Out of whose mouths will it come? Will people be silent, afraid to speak, and afraid to live as a Christian? He promises salvation to those who endure to the end, and the crown of life to those who love Him. (Matthew 24:13, James 1:12). Those who see Him as He is, will be like Him at His coming. (1 John 3:2-3).

Jesus taught a lesson in the parable of the talents. (Matthew 25:14-30). Will we take what he's given us and hide it in the ground, thinking we will preserve it, being too afraid to take a risk? Have we neglected to have children and teach them the ways of the Lord? Are we too wrapped up in our own lives, preserving and protecting what we have? When we raise children, we are increasing faith into the next generation. If two people have three or four children who are trained in the ways of the Lord, they've increased faith in the earth. Where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in the midst. A couple having children is a family increasing faith in the earth. This brings the presence of God into their midst. (Matthew 18:19-20).

In Noah's day, was there faith in the earth? Very little. But God set aside a family to repopulate the earth from. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be when Jesus returns. In Noah's day people were going on about their lives, not understanding what was about to come. Today, people are going about their lives, not understanding what is about to come--that HE is about to come. (Matthew 24:32-41). What will He find when He returns? Will He find faith on the earth?

Why did God say to bring the tithes into the storehouse? So there may be food in His house. (Malachi 3:10). So there's food--sustenance--in the house of God. So His people survive and do not die off, do not give up, and so faith continues from generation to generation. We maintain the house of God so when Jesus comes back, faith will have prevailed.

The torch has been passed on to us. We must not drop it or let it go out, but pass it on to the next generation. So when Jesus returns, the seed of faith that He planted here the first time He came, will be full grown and welcome His return, His justice and judgment in the earth. Will He find faith on the earth? Yes! We will endure to the end. Our faith will pass the test, and be found to be more precious than gold. Come quickly Lord Jesus! (1 Peter 1:7, Rev 22:20).

If Your Enemy is Hungry...In a Time of Crisis

In a time of crisis, the one thing on people's minds is survival. It is a human instinct. It is God-given. Does God want His people to survive during a crisis, and if so, how?

Jesus is Lord over all. He is Lord over everything. As Christians, we know that, and we know that one day everyone else will know that, and acknowledge it. But we know Him now, and because we know Him now as Lord, we also know Him as Savior. This is because we believe in Him, and have chosen Him now.

We were put here on the earth to make choices. We were sent here to choose Him and His ways. To make decisions that will honor Him and prove our loyalty and faithfulness to Him. The earth is a proving ground, a place where our faith is tested. As we make daily choices to follow Him and His ways, we are examples of His way to others in the earth. We are the light, as Jesus was the light, so those in darkness can see the ways of God, and that His way is truth.

So in a time of crisis, we are to pursue survival, but in way that honors the Lord--with choices that prove our faith and dedication to Him. Choices that are in agreement with Him. We don't pursue survival out of fear or selfishness, but in character with the Holy Spirit, in alignment with the Word of God, and in the way Jesus has taught us to walk. We don't strive to survive as cowards, as one who compromises our faith or cowers in fear. We don't look for the easy path, but the right path.

However, this is about more than personal survival. It's survival of the ways of God in the earth. It's the survival of those who will continue His ways in the earth. It's protecting, teaching and leading children who will perpetuate His way. We don't sit back while evil men rise to power. We fight, yet not out of fear, hunger, despair, anger or frustration. We fight so good, honest and innocent people can live in peace and worship God, populating the earth with those who love Him. We each have our own personal battles, but God's people survive as a whole by fighting our common battles. Each generation has their own Canaan Wars to fight.

In a time of crisis we must look to our purpose. The very first purpose God gave man was to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it. To have dominion. God's plan was for His people to rule over the earth and to fill the earth with people--children--who would learn God's ways and perpetuate it. Of course we know that one day the earth will pass away. Jesus will come again and He will rule in the earth, and us with Him. But just because we know this will happen doesn't mean we sit back and do nothing now. We don't bury our talent, sit back and wait for Him.

Our purpose is not only to rule the earth by filling it with those who love God, but to worship Him from our heart and make personal choices that honor Him and prove our faithfulness to Him in the face of every difficulty. We have both a personal call to draw near to Him, and a call to unite together and take ground for Him. We may get by now without too much dependence on others for survival, but in a crisis, it would be extremely difficult to survive on our own, without a community of people to work with. What would you do if desperate, violent men beat on your door to take those things you and your family need to survive? If you martyr yourselves to them, who is prevailing in the earth?

You will often see missionaries feeding the hungry and preaching the gospel to them. Jesus miraculously fed the people who came to hear what He had to say. A time of crisis is a perfect opportunity to reach out to the needy and not only give them food, but the Word of God as well. However, this takes some planning in advance. Of course God can bless and multiply our efforts, like He did the little boy's lunch, but we give Him something to work with--like the widow with the jar of oil. There is something we have in our house, something we start with that we give to Him, and when we have faith in Him, He will multiply what we have. However, there may be a point at which you have to protect and guard what is in your trust, in order to survive.

In a serious crisis where travel and communication are affected, our neighbors will be our closest friend or our worst enemy. I would encourage everyone to have a plan that includes your neighbors. In a disaster, everyone will be brought back to examining the reason for their existence--their core purpose. Having a job to do during a disaster helps people discover that. Emergency services--police, fire and medical--would be overwhelmed. There are plenty of needs that would have to be addressed right away--security, communication, medical, sanitation, water and food. Realistically, all of these need to be addressed as a community--a neighborhood. Having a plan and assigning people to these teams will bring people together working for the same goal, rather than allowing a desperate attitude that turns to selfishness and violence to rise up. And of course our lights can shine bright as we share the love of Jesus, and our faith in Him, during times like this.


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Ephesians 1:20-23, Philippians 2:9-11, James 1:12, Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Revelation 21:7-8, Genesis 18:19, Genesis 1:28, Luke 21:33, Revelation 20:6, 2 Timothy 2:12, Matthew 25:14-30, Proverbs 29:2, Matthew 15-32-38,  2 Kings 4:1-7, Matthew 5:14-16, Proverbs 25:21, Psalm 127

A Christian's Response to Transgender Children

Your five-year-old daughter makes a comment about wishing she was a boy. Or maybe you notice she likes to play with trucks, play in the mud, or pick up snakes and frogs. Does the thought cross your mind that she might "really" be a boy, or that you should tell her she can be a boy if she wants to? There are some who would tell you that you should consider treating her as a boy and even consider "transitioning" her to the opposite sex. As a Christian, what exactly is wrong with that?

Let's set aside God's opinion for a moment, even though that alone should be enough to convince you it's wrong. But we'll hold off on that and look at what happens when you try and transition her. First, it's important to know that a child continues to mature in the understanding of their gender after birth. Gender is determined before birth, of course, but during childhood a person learns to become comfortable and accepting of their gender, and of themselves in general. (Ref.) If a child questions her gender, and you respond by suggesting that maybe she shouldn't "be a girl," that she should dress and act like a boy, what are you really teaching her? You are teaching her that she is not okay as she is. Something is wrong with her. She was born with a defect. You are teaching her to reject who she is. Instead of teaching her to love herself, to understand and work through the ups and downs of being a female, which leads to a solid gender identity and acceptance, you are setting her on a horrible path of trying to be something she's not. 

When she has doubts, concerns, questions, maybe even rejection of who she is, (some of which may be completely normal in the maturing process), teach her how to be a girl, not to reject herself. Trying to change who she is brings more than confusion--it shakes the very core of who she is. Rather than learning to work through personal strengths and weaknesses, she is told to reject truth and make up her own reality. Parents who do this are setting her up for failure, as she loses the precious years of childhood. Time when she should be learning to grow and develop in her personal gifts and call, instead are spent trying to change the impossible and convince herself, and others, that she is something she isn't. The more she struggles and becomes confused, the more people say, 'see we were right, she really is having gender issues.' But she has "issues" because they created gender confusion by giving her the idea that gender is a choice when it's not. The pressure of choosing the "right" or "wrong" gender is too much for a child. It creates the confusion she is experiencing, it's not evidence that confusion was already there. It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy so to speak. Kids need to know where the boundaries are. They find comfort in unshakable truths. When we take boundaries and truth away, we leave them feeling insecure and confused.

The funny thing is, those who support transgender students are saying we need to accept them, and claim to be the most caring, yet they are inflicting the worst kind of rejection onto them because they fail to accept who they are, or help them through the questions and struggles of normal gender maturity. Instead, they encourage these children to reject themselves--the truth of who they really are. Who is really being kind to this child? Not the one who lies, but the one who speaks the truth.

This is the kind of deception going on in today's world. Some do not admit that there are certain unchangeable truths. These are truths that God Himself establishes. We see this decline in our society happening as we have declined in giving God first place, accepting Him as the ultimate truth. No matter how hard you try, you cannot change your gender. Changing your gender is like trying to change your birthdate. It's not something that can be changed. Its a fact, not a feeling or preference. The only thing that can restrain this out of control/anything goes kind of behavior is truth. When we reject truth, we become deceived and don't know it. We live a lie and will suffer eternal consequences of rejecting truth unless we change and embrace God and His truth. (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). 

So what does God say about gender choice? God commanded His people to keep His statutes and said, a man "shall not lie with a man as with a woman. (Leviticus 18:22). He also said "A woman shall not wear man's clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman's clothing." (Deuteronomy 22:5). This covers homosexual behavior and cross-dressing. Homosexuality and transgendering go hand in hand. When you have one you eventually, if not immediately, have the other. Transgendering, in the mind of God, is nothing more than cross-dressing. He formed us in our mother's womb male or female. (Psalm 139:13). The sex He formed us is the sex we are. All this gender changing/sexual behavior which deviates from what God has established is sinful in His eyes. And it's His eyes that matter, our opinion is always subject to His. He establishes truth and righteousness. 

 In Luke 17:26-29, Jesus compares the days of Noah with the days of Sodom. Homosexuality was rampant in Sodom. It is what brought about their destruction by fire and brimstone. So the flood which destroyed every living thing, except those in the ark, happened when homosexual sin, and other sexual sin, was out of control (Genesis 6, Genesis 19). This divine opinion of homosexual related sin was reinforced in the new testament when Paul wrote that those who practice homosexuality will not inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). God is not in favor of homosexuality, gender choice and all of the related behaviors that go along with that. (See also The Bible and Same Sex Love).

So what is a Christian's response? We pray, we love, and we speak the truth. We submit to God's ways and do not compromise. We teach our children truth, and lead them into an encounter with the Lord--the One who loves them more than anyone else, the One who knows them more than anyone else. When a child experiences the true love of the Lord, he or she will fall in love with Him, and things have a way of falling into place.

Arrows of Accusations

The Bible says to use the shield of faith to extinguish ALL of the flaming arrows of the wicked one. (Ephesians 6:16). Every single arrow of his is to be shielded and extinguished, not one is to come through. One of his main arrows is accusation. He stands before our God night and day accusing the brethren. (Revelation 12:10-11).

Even after these arrows have been shielded, extinguished, and fallen to the ground, if you go pick them up to examine them, there is still potential to harm. There are thoughts and words associated with these arrows. When the serpent got Eve to examine and ponder his words, it caused doubts of God's words within her thoughts, and ultimately she acted on those doubts, which caused disaster. We are to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Words contain power, even after spoken. God's words contain the ultimate power. His written words can be picked up, examined (meditated on), believed and spoken, and the power in them remains. Yet even the accusatory, deceptive words of the enemy can bring harm if picked up and pondered, just as an extinguished arrow (or poisonous one) can still hurt you if you accidentally cut yourself with it. Pondering / examining the words of the enemy is a dangerous thing that could poison you with deception, opening the door for an influx of guilt and shame, causing you to attempt to self-justify rather than trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ which cleanses you. (See 1 John 1:7-10).

Just as a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough, receiving any of the enemy's words will bring evil in some way. Poison that is sugar-coated will still kill you. We must have discernment from the Holy Spirit to recognize lies that are sprinkled with a little bit of truth. Only if we seek the Lord and press in to Him, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to our heart if necessary, will we get the pure truth. Consider this, do we repent based on the accusations of the enemy, or the truth of the Holy Spirit?

Again, our enemy is an accuser and accuses us before God night and day, yet he will make accusations directly to you too. Once you recognize an accusatory thought as coming from him, discard it. Don't act on anything he says, even if it's "partial" truth. (Although there is no such thing as partial truth—true Truth is 100% pure. This is why I often ask "If truth is not spoken in love is it still truth?" But that's another story.)

The purpose of the enemy's accusations is not to get you to repent and walk closer with the Lord, they are to bring condemnation any way possible. He wants you to turn away from the Light in shame, hiding yourself in a place away from the Lord, away from His cleansing and forgiveness. We don't need the enemy to tell us when we sin. If we want to be pure and holy people, we don't listen to the words of the enemy. We don't ponder his accusations. We don't receive the guilt that they bring. We don't attempt to justify ourselves through our own efforts, and then receive his condemnation when we fail at self-justification. No. Instead, we extinguish every one of his fiery, accusatory arrows as soon as they come. We draw close to the Lord and listen only to His voice. We walk in the light with Him, having fellowship with Him, and the blood of Jesus continually washes and cleanses us. We confess our sin to Him and He forgives. He is not holding our trespasses against us, but flowing with forgiveness as we remain in fellowship with Him. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19, 1 John 1:7-10).

The Quiet Life

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to "make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need." (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12). I would ask the question, how do we obey Jesus' command to go and preach the Gospel to all nations, which sometimes creates conflict as the light hits the darkness, yet at the same time make it our ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to our own business?

To live a quiet life and attend to our own business seems to imply that we stay out of other people's business and enjoy life with our own like-minded family and friends. Paul wrote to Timothy to pray "for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity." (1 Timothy 2:2). So it seems a life of peace and tranquility is what we should aim for. However, does this mean that we never share our faith with those who don't believe in Jesus? Does this mean we compromise and allow others to invade our quiet life with their beliefs in order to try and "keep peace?" Does peace mean the absence of conflict?

Jesus said He did not come to send peace, but a sword. This would imply some kind of conflict.

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man's enemies will be the members of his household." (Matthew 10:34-36).

If our enemies live right in our midst, even in our own home at times, then how do we lead a tranquil and quiet life? How are we at peace with turmoil in our midst? Consider David's song in Psalm 131:

O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty; 

Nor do I involve myself in great matters, or in things too difficult for me.

Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; 

like a weaned child rests against his mother, my soul is like a weaned child within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever

When it's too much for us, we quiet our soul. Just as a child rests once he has been fully taken care of, we compose and quiet our soul within us. The Lord takes care of us, provides for us, protects us and nurtures us so we grow and learn to rest in Him. We come to the point where we know how to quiet our own soul, because we trust in Him. He has been faithful to us. We're not proud and haughty, but maintain a humble, restful faith in the Lord. This enables us to quiet our soul.

When we know we don't have the solution to things that are beyond our control, rather than becoming anxious and troubled, angry or frustrated, we trust in the Lord with simple, child-like faith. When Paul told Timothy to pray for those in authority so they could live a quiet and tranquil life, he went on to say, "This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus..." (1 Timothy 2:3-5). God desires for everyone--kings and citizens alike--to come to the knowledge of truth, and for people to be able to preach the message of Jesus Christ and live according to it, in peace. We pray for all those in authority so this will be possible. If there is conflict going on around us--things too difficult for us to resolve--we quiet our souls within and rest in Him, and we pray.

There is a peace we have within, which comes from a right relationship with God. When we have this peace, it doesn't matter what is going on around us--we are at peace because we trust in Him. However, there are those who do not have peace within them because they are not right with God. They will try and control the environment around them in order to get peace, but this outward peace doesn't fully satisfy like the inward peace with God does.

Until Jesus comes, there will always be those among us who don't believe. We rely on the governing authorities to keep the peace--the outward peace--for now. While praying for those in authority to know what to do to keep the peace, we should aim to live among people in such a way that will, hopefully, show them how to have peace within their heart through faith in Jesus Christ.

When Paul spoke to the Thessalonians, and said to make it their ambition to live a quiet life, tend to their own business, and work with their own hands, he said to do it so that they could behave properly towards "outsiders," and not have any need. What is this proper behavior towards outsiders? We see an example in what Paul said to the church at Ephesus, which was for those who used to steal not to steal anymore but to work with their own hands that which is good, so that they will have something to share with one who has need. (Ephesians 4:28). We also see Paul saying to the Romans, "if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." (Romans 12:18).

So it seems that we are to aim for a quiet and peaceable life, work to provide for our needs and the needs of our own family, while praying for those in authority and living peaceably with those around us when possible. By tending to our own business we not only have our own needs met, but we have something to offer others who are in need. Even though we absolutely don't compromise our faith with the "outsiders" in our midst, we still love them, attempt to live peaceably with them, show them how they too can have peace within, and when possible, give to those in need. Let's pray for those in authority to maintain the peace in our land, and let's pray for opportunities to reach others with the Gospel of peace, so they may have peace within. One day Jesus will come and get it all straightened out. In the meantime, we can live the quiet life as we put our own soul in a place of rest and peace in Him.

No Longer Content with a Crippled Life

1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer. 

2 And a man who had been lame from his mother’s womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple. 

3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. 

4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, “Look at us!”

5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 

6 But Peter said, “I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene—walk!” 

7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened. 

8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 

9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God; 

10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Acts 3:1-10

Have you been in a troubling situation for a long time? This man was crippled from his mother's womb. All he knew was to be carried to the temple gate every day so he could beg for money. This had gone on his whole life. He couldn't take care of himself, and had to rely on the generosity of others. He went to a place where people would be compassionate. He went to the people of God, where he could find mercy. They would give money so he could stay alive, and maybe even enjoy some comforts while remaining in his crippled situation. The people of God gave to him, and probably felt good about it, and he benefited as well from their giving. This was his life and he, and everyone else, was used to it.

This man was not expecting to receive anything other than alms to make his life easier. He wasn't even looking at people while he begged. If he said anything at all he may have just spoke generally to everyone who passed by. He didn't expect Peter and John to give him anything special because when they passed by, Peter said, "Look at us!" He hadn't made eye contact with them until Peter said that. Yet even then, when he did look at them, he was still just expecting to receive alms. He didn't see what was coming. He didn't see that they could offer him a way out of his crippled life. He was expecting life to go on as usual, not a miraculous change that would turn his whole life upside down--or right side up.

Peter said he wasn't going to give him silver and gold. He wasn't going to give him something that would just make him more comfortable as a cripple. He was not going to speak anything that would enable him to continue in that mentality, that lifestyle, outside the temple and away from his true purpose in life. He was going to give him something that would pull him up out of his lame life and turn him into a productive person in the community. One who could give to others and contribute to society--not one who felt hopeless, useless and a burden on others. God is in the restoration business!

Peter gave him what he had to give, "In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!" He pulled him up by the right hand and immediately he was able to walk. God interrupted his life. He broke the cycle of crippledness in this man's thinking, as well as his body. The man entered the temple with Peter and John walking, leaping and praising God. This caused the people to be filled with wonder and amazement. God was glorified in this man's healing, and that was just the beginning of his new life.

Are you in a situation where you know you need help beyond yourself just to survive? You don't have it within yourself to even get by in life? Have you gone to the people of God looking for help? Maybe they offer prayer, gifts, time or whatever they can give to help you be more comfortable in your current situation. You appreciate that, of course, and that may have become "normal" for you. You go to the people of God for help and prayer and it works for a time. However, God is calling you up to a higher level. He is able to do more than just make you more comfortable in your crippledness. He is able to pull you up out of it so you are crippled no more!

Look up. Look to Him. Look beyond what the people of God can do, and look to what He can do through them. Look expecting. Look with hope. I hear bones popping back into place! Rise up out of your crippledness and walk in the Name of Jesus!

"Father God, come invade our lives. Interrupt our living. We no longer want that which will just sustain us in our crippled situation. We look to You Lord, not expecting to receive that which will just make us better able to tolerate a lame life, but we look to You with expectancy to pull us up out of our crippledness, so we may enter into the fullness of You. So we may walk and leap and praise You, fulfilling our destiny!"

What to do when you have hopeless faith or faithless hope!

Follow this train of thought with me...

If answered prayer requires faith, and faith is the assurance of things hoped for, then we need hope to get answers to prayer. So, how do we get hope?

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Hope comes by being filled with joy and peace, in believing. Believing what? The promises of God--His words to us. So we can summarize that answered prayer begins with an attitude of joy and peace concerning the promises of God to you.

Let's look at this in more detail... Answered prayer requires faith. When the blind men came to Jesus asking for mercy, He asked them if they believed He was able to do this. They said yes, and when He touched their eyes He said, "It shall be done to you according to your faith" and their eyes were opened. (Matthew 9:27-30). Faith was required on their part in order for them to be healed of their blindness.

A father brought his boy to the disciples to cast a demon out of his son and the disciples couldn't do it. When Jesus got there, He said to the man, "All things are possible to him who believes." The man said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." (Mark 9:23-24). Jesus then cast the demon out. When His disciples asked Him why they couldn't do it, He said "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." (Matthew 17:20). Even though Jesus also said, this kind of demon only goes out by prayer and fasting, He specifically states that the reason they couldn't do it was not because of that, but because of their lack of faith. Faith was required for this boy to be delivered from the demon. The disciples didn't have the faith, but Jesus did.

There are other instances where Jesus responded to the faith of people, resulting in miracles.

• Matthew 8:10, 13: Of the Centurion who came to Jesus seeking healing for his servant, Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.....Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed." The servant was healed at that very moment.

• Mark 2:5: Regarding the paralytic let down through the roof by his friends we read, "And Jesus seeing their faith..." Not only did he immediately get healed, but his sins were forgiven as well.

• Matthew 9:22: To the woman with the hemorrhage for twelve years, He said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." She was made well at once.

• Matthew 15:28: To the Canaanite woman seeking help for her daughter, He said, "O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish." Her daughter was healed at once.

Most of us probably realize we need faith to get miraculous healings and such in our lives, but we don't often recognize the importance of hope. We might wish, but not with true hope. We fall short by not clearly defining what we are hoping for. Hope is the details of our desire--healing, provision, protection, etc. Hope is the specific word that gives life to our faith.

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for. 

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

Throughout the 11th chapter of Hebrews we read the stories of those who had great faith. The evidence of their faith is the results they received. Things like Noah building the ark, Abraham leaving his home town and going to the Promised Land, Sarah conceiving a child, and many more--Abel, Enoch, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses etc... The thing that gives substance to faith is what the person is hoping for. There are specific things listed in this chapter that define what exactly their faith produced. The things hoped for are specific things, they are the "things not seen" that we mix our faith with.

James wrote that "faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." (James 2:17). Faith requires something to fill it so it can take shape. Kind of like a balloon--hope is like the air in the balloon and faith is the balloon itself. The air (hope) without the balloon (faith) won't result in anything visible, and the balloon (faith) without the air (hope) won't come to life and take the shape it is supposed to.

If you have a problem going on in your life, you don't just need faith to get your answer, you also need hope. You need hope to see the end result you desire, and your faith works with that hope to bring it to pass. We know that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), but how do we get hope?

Hope comes from being filled with all joy and peace.

Once again the Bible says, 

"Now may the God of peace fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

The God of peace fills you with all joy and peace, in believing, so that you may abound in hope! Go to the God of peace and ask Him to fill you with all joy and peace. He has already given you His Word which is full of words of promises--words of hope. If you are filled with His Spirit, you have joy and peace in you as fruit of the Spirit. Cultivate this fruit! Meditate on His Word so that "in believing" you will abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit!

There is a cycle here we need to understand. You could call it a miracle cloud. Being filled with joy and peace causes your hope to abound. Your hope continues to grow as you stay filled with joy and peace. Your hope grows stronger and gives shape to your faith. At this point where your hope unites with faith, there is a shift in reality. There is a shift in the spiritual realm and the quantum field that surrounds you. Like the woman who said, "If I can just touch the hem of His garment, I will be made whole," your hope--regarding a specific promise or word--gives life to faith. (Matthew 9:21). When you inject patience into all of it, then you understand that these things are happening outside the realm of time. God is outside the realm of time. You can remain in joy and peace because your focus is not on "when." Patience is like the knot in the balloon which enables you to stay filled with joy and peace. Your patience maintains the joy and peace, which produces more hope, which gives life to faith, to which you add patience, and the cycle continues. This is a miracle cloud--the place where miracles happen!

We get disappointed when we go looking for hope in all the wrong places. We look to our family, our friends, our pastor, or anyone other than the God of peace. He is the source of the joy and peace that creates hope--true hope--which His Word is full of. Prophetic words spoken to us bring the joy and peace that fills us with hope. The Word of God, written or spoken, gives us promises--gives us hope!

Make this your profession of faith concerning the biggest need you have today:

"The God of hope has given me great promises that fill me with joy and peace. I will keep my mind on His words of promise to stay continually filled with joy and peace. This joy and peace causes me to abound in hope.

This hope grows, inflating my faith, giving substance to it. This faith is the assurance that the unseen things I hope for are a reality.

With patience, I trust the Lord for the proper timing of all things, knowing the reality exists in the eternal realm. I maintain patience and stay filled with joy and peace continually, remembering His words of promise, which strengthens my hope--inflates my faith--and renews my patience, so I can remain filled with joy and peace at all times."