What is Faith?

Do you know why its so hard to have faith. Simply put, its because we can't see the future and none of us like to make mistakes. The very definition of faith is "believing in the unseen." It is trusting in God to know that he has never let me down and will not start now. When God speaks to us to do something, it is usually something out of our comfort zones. We all have a comfort zone of things that we are willing to do. When we are compelled to move out of that safe are we are not very happy with life. Like any good parent, God has a way of encroaching on our comfort zones and exposing us to more.  In those times when we are feeling God lead us to do something that wouldn't normally make sense, we must use our faith. It can seem like we are going out on a limb, as the old saying goes, to follow God's leading. But there is no safer place to be than when we know we have done our best to obey God. Faith is following a God I can hear and feel to lead me where I can not see. It might seem difficult (and even crazy) but the benefits always outweigh the doubts. Faith in God will never lead us wrong !

Trusting Him Daily,

Sullivan Jones 

Do you believe in angels?

Do you believe in angels? The scripture says  in Psalm 37:4 that the angel of the Lord encamps about those that fear him and delivers them. Wow! What a promise. God's angels are with me wherever I go to protect me. They are not to be worshiped nor prayed to but they are there for the protection of God's children. They have been known to make themselves visible when the occasion calls for it. Countless people have told stories of "someone" showing up at just the right moment when they needed help.

A lady minister whose husband was a commercial fisherman once told me the following story. As a commercial fisherman he had financed an engine for his boat with a bank in a nearby town. It was a very poor season and he did not have the money to make his bank note that Friday. Toward the end of the week she called the bank to talk to the loan officer. The loan officer assured this lady that her husband, I'll call him Bob, had come into the bank several days before and paid the note. Now the lady knew this was impossible but the loan officer was insistent. She said, "I know your husband and talked to him myself. He came up to my window and paid his note in cash." She thanked the lady and hung up. That evening when her husband came home she asked him and he denied paying the loan. The only explanation was that one of God's powerful angels went into that bank disguised as Bob and payed his bank note. God is good!

The angels are spiritual beings who were created to worship and serve God. As God's children, he often sends them to serve us as well. We need never be distraught, afraid, or frustrated when in need. God's angels are watching over us every minute of every day. Allstate has a saying: "you're in good hands, Allstate." Well, I would like to tell us all that we are in in even better hands, the hands of God and He is always right on time.

Living confidently in Jesus,

Sullivan Jones 

What is a Savior?

Savior! The very word implies that we needed saving from something. We have all heard (and probably used) a term such as "you're a life saver" or "you saved me" when someone helped us out in a pinch. Yet very few of us probably know what it really feels like to have your life saved. The women who was pulled out of a river by strangers when her car went off the road knows what it is like. This is a drastic situation but "life saver" is a drastic term.

We use the term "Savior" all the time for our Lord Jesus without really stopping to consider what he saved us from. Oh, some people do know. They give testimonies about how God saved them from drugs or alcohol. Maybe others came to God when their marriage was on the rocks. But what about those who grew up in Godly, stable homes with wonderful parents? What about those who have never experienced all the bad that life has to dish out? Do they still need a savior?

The answer is yes. Paul said it like this in Romans 5:6: "At just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly." But who is the ungodly? Romans 3:23 says "all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory." That all includes everyone of us so everyone of us needed a savior. We all deserved death but God gave us life instead through his shed blood on the cross. No matter how good or bad we've been, he is the savior. We should take time today to thank him.

Blessed beyond measure,

Sullivan Jones