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Romans 10:17 says, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards of those who seek Him.” From the very beginning of our journey as believers, God expects us to have the faith to trust Him. Salvation cannot take place unless we begin to trust Him but our salvation is only the beginning of our faith. Our faith is developed in at least two ways. Since hearing the word is the source of faith, faith is developed and becomes stronger as we spend time in the Bible. Thus, our faith is directly dependent on how much time we spend in the word. In addition, John 16:24 says, “Hitherto you have asked nothing in my name. Ask and you shall receive that your joy may be full.” Does that mean that we can ask for anything and God will provide it? Definitely not!! James 4:2-3 says “² You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³ You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. Our faith is designed not for meeting our own needs but especially the needs of others. There are certainly times when God provides for us individually but faith is most rewarded when we seek to meet the needs of others. We live in an age when we see many “disciples” preaching and teaching in a way to benefit themselves. Did the disciples at the time of Christ benefit themselves and become wealthy with regard to the world? NO. They used their faith to bring the gospel to the known world.

            Faith is a spiritual muscle that requires exercise. Our faith does not grow unless we exercise it. We cannot walk out the door and expect to see major answers to prayer or major physical or spiritual needs met without faith. Jesus told the disciples that they would say to a mountain move hence to yonder place and it would move if they had faith. How many of us could walk outside and literally move a mountain? Faith does move mountains. It does not necessarily move physical mountains, but it does move spiritual mountains.

            Faith exercises start with small things. When Cheryl and I were first married, I used to have a thirty mile trip to work every day. During the five years I worked there, I never established a routine for filling my car with gas. I always asked God if I had enough gas to get to work or to get home when I was getting low on gas. He would always tell me (through the Spirit) whether I needed to get gas. During the five years, I only ran out of gas one time and that was within 100 yards of our home. We need to put ourselves in faith building situations. When we moved to New Mexico, we were paying two mortgages and it took 1.25 years to sell our house in New York (we were $2,500 a month short). Through our faith building exercises over the years, we learned that we could trust God to meet our needs. He met it so well over that one and one quarter years that we didn’t even have to change life styles. We need to exercise and build our faith muscle to be assured that God will provide during the coming persecution.

St. Patricks day- the day we pull out a green shirt and eat corned beef and cabbage. But what do we really know about St. Patrick?  Patrick was born in Romanized Britain and at 16 was captured by Irish raiders. He was taken to Ireland where he was enslaved for 6 years before he escaped back to Britain. He then felt the call to return to Ireland and serve the Irish people by sharing the gospel. He is also known for his confession in which he writes about his trials along with his heartfelt testimony.  You can read the first four stanzas below or click here to read in full.

Confession

To read more click here

The Structure of Reality                                                           Which reality is real? Is it what we feel on the inside or what we and others can observe on the outside? Are there really three realities, or maybe four including the so-called Metaverse? As portrayed in the Bible there is one reality comprised of two realms, the seen (human perceptions) and the unseen (the realm of God). This is an issue, since the supposition of “personal reality/ truth” is so pervasive today. In the last days, Jesus warns of a great deception. Might this be a sign of coming greater persecutions and tribulations? Be encouraged to meditate on the Scriptures, which claim our faithful LORD God is the only source of truth – reality.

The dictionary defines truth as that which is true; the true or actual facts of a case; conformity with fact or reality. Reality is defined as the state or fact of being real; resemblance to that which is real; a real thing or fact; that which exists independently of ideas concerning it. The dictionary defines faithful as true to one’s word; what may be relied upon, trusted or believed; true to fact.

Having examined, in a Bible Concordance, biblical references to the use of the words true or truth, and the words faithful or faithfulness, there is an interesting correspondence. In the Old Testament, truth is defined as certainty; trustworthiness; faithful; sure; true, truth. Faithfulness is defined as truly; truth; verily; faithful. In the New Testament, truth is defined as true; verity. Faithfulness is defined as trustworthy, sure; true; faithful.

How do we know the truth?

1. The truth is Jesus. Get to know Him! (Jn. 14:6)
2. The Holy Spirit will teach us truth. Ask Him! (1 Cor. 2:13)
3. Become a real friend of Jesus. Obey Him! (Jn. 15:14)
4. Test the spirits out there. Make Jesus the “plumbline” to measure truth! (1 Jn. 4:1)
5. Know the Word, especially the promises! (2 Pet. 1:3-4)
6. Walk in the Light, in fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ! (1 Jn. 1:7)
7. Find the best truth resources you can! (Jn. 8:32)
8. Pray every day that truth and deceptions would be revealed! (Mt. 24)

Prayer is the tissue that connects the seen and the unseen realms of true reality. It connects what is going on down here, that we see and experience, with what is going on up there, where we know by faith and not by sight. Be encouraged to pray; pray as a community of believers.

How do we pray?

1. Pray in faith. Believe God and His Word! (Lk. 22:32)
2. Pray according to God’s will! (Col. 1:9)
3. Pray in the Holy Spirit. He is our Intercessor! (Rom. 8:26)
4. Pray through the names of God. Let Him reveal Himself by His names in Scripture!
5. Pray asking, seeking and knocking. (Mt. 7:7-8)
6. Pray binding and loosing on earth, that binding and loosing may happen in heaven. (Mt. 16:19)
7. Pray in a group!

In these coming days we must stand in the truth and pray. Be encouraged to look at circumstances with an eternal perspective; we have such an awesome hope in God’s promises to us. We also have a great responsibility to pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. This does not mean we pray that our circumstances might be exactly according to our liking (all about me), or that we pray without hope (in fear).

God, help me to pray! Light a fire, LORD.

For the past few years I’ve spent a number of months each year on The Appalachian Trail.  While I hike and live along the trail my primary focus has been on spreading the Good News to those I meet.  There are many people who come to the trail looking for “the meaning of life.”  Initially they think it will be found in nature, but soon they realize that there must be more.  It’s a grand opportunity to let them know about where true meaning comes from: God, who is manifested in His creation.  Over the years I’ve had more occasions per day to share the gospel and point people to Christ along the trail than anytime else in my life. 

     While I was at home, I was asked to write about how I share Christ on the trail  and I had difficulty describing it: it just seemed so natural to me.  Now that I’m out on the trail for the year, I’ve paid attention to what I do and offer these ideas that I’ve found to be powerful instruments.  As a preface, let me note that while out here, I almost never initiate these conversations.  People can discern that I’m available for discussion and they are the ones who start it.

     This brings up the first key to a fruitful intercourse: time.  I make it clear that I have all the time desired to stop and talk with someone.  When people realize that you will stop and hear them, they begin to tell you about their life, their challenges and their joys.  I provide the sounding board that they need to empty what has been kept inside them because no one wanted to hear. I say very little, but listen very carefully.  It is amazing how long folks will talk if they know you want to hear them; many do not have someone with whom they can open up like this.

     The second key I see is imbedded in the first: silence.  Of course I’d love to tell others about my life and adventures, but I keep quiet.  These discourses are intended to reach others, not sound my own horn.  If the relationship develops further, there will be plenty of time for me to tell about myself.  For now, the less said about me, the better.  Avoiding talking about myself lets others know that I really want to hear about them, and encourages them to continue to open up about themselves.  I often hear God reminding me in these conversations that I should shut up and listen.

     After a while in these conversations the subject starts to turn from the mundane to the truly significant: things like life-changing events or traumas, or significant concerns that have been left unanswered, sometimes for years.  This is the time for the third key: questions.  Now is the time to ask thoughtful questions which do two things: they let people know that you really are hearing what they have to say, and it helps to start turning the conversation towards the One who can help them when no one else can.  For example, someone came up and asked if they could hike with me; after telling me all about themselves and marriage partner for well over 45 minutes they started wondering about the foundations of their marriage.  I asked why they were concerned, and what they thought the foundations should be.  Their focus was entirely based on what the world values: communal life and love, avoiding being alone, and joint happiness.  When I asked if they thought there was more to it than that, it opened a dialog about what I see as the focus of marriage: God putting us together to share life and draw each other and others to know Him and serve Him.  This stirred up more questions about who created marriage, and further, who created the world we live in.  This conversation will be continued when I expect we see each other again in a few weeks.  It was interesting to me that I got to interact with both members of this marriage at different places before I connected them to each other; even more interesting is that I learned one is pretty heavily involved in a Christian church already.  God is a good arranger of events.

     The fourth key is one that is easy to say, and sometimes harder to do: love.  I practically never tell people I’m a Christian; they should perceive it by how I behave, and what I say.  It may be cliché, but it is still true: “They will know we are Christians by our love.”  By what I do and what I say in response to others, people will know where my hope comes from.  And this is now my opportunity to tell them about the one who loved me so much that He gave His life for me, and stands with me all the time.  That kind of love should exude from every pore of your body; when others see it, they want to experience it also and are often eager to hear more about how they can find this special love.  They want to hear more about who I know as the creator of the world and guide in my life.  With hikers, something tangible that can show this love is taking care of their often calloused and hurting feet by offering some foot healing lotion, or helping fix a broken piece of equipment.  Maybe a snack from my pack will be a sign of love, or an offer to use my phone which gets reception where many phones don’t to call someone.  It might be an offer to call and continue the conversation later, or it might be sending a note by snail mail encouraging and helping to lead to further discussions.

     The final key in these discussions is the one that underlies all of them: The Holy Spirit.  It is never people who bring others to God; the Spirit is the one who comes into their lives, and brings them into the ultimate relationship.  Our role is to point out some of the things God has done in our lives, and to show pathways that can lead to  finding that relationship with Jesus which forever will change a person’s life.  I find it vitally important to keep in mind also that we are seeking to find faith, and not complete understanding of everything.  Faith in God does not mean that we will now know the answers to all of life’s questions.  In fact, it may lead to more questions.  Understanding might be advanced, but we will not understand all that is in this world while we are in it; we aren’t God.  Leading someone to Christ means putting them in a relationship under His wings where He can over time reveal more of Himself.

     So there you have it: the five keys I see in my trail discussions: time, silence, questions, love, and Holy Spirit.  I hope they can help you as you walk your trails.

Mountain Christian Church was able to provide funding for our partners, Genesis of Hope (a sub-ministry of Cooperative Outreach of South Asia) to conduct Vacation Bible School. Covid restrictions had them conducting this in a different way than they have historically. GOH has held a large central VBS in years past where children from all of the centers throughout the city are bused in with nearly 1,000 attendees. This year VBS was held in October and was held in each GOH center. This year as in years past approximately 1,000 children were able to attend local VBS activities and a large part of the funds MCC contributed bought warm clothing for the children as the cooler months were just beginning. These children come from predominantly Hindu and Muslim homes are able to hear about the love of Christ many for the first time ever.

Impact:

• 1,000 children attended VBS activities held in various slums
• Many of these children have heard about the love of Jesus for the first time.
• Warm clothing was distributed to the attendees