Faith Concepts
(Part of a project written in 2016) –unedited or proofread at all!
God/ Love of God

Sometimes it might seem that God’s allowed too much bad to take over the world. But that’s not going to last. He first has to let people find out the consequences of doing things their own way before they will be really ready to love and accept Him as the Lord of all, and King of the Universe that He is. Of course, there are many of us—like you and me—who feel ready right now for Him to take cover and put an end to this madness and mess that that has come about by mass rebellion against God and love and His Word in the Bible. However, God is very patient and longsuffering and wants to make sure he’s giving everybody a chance to hear about His Son Jesus, and a chance to make decisions. He’d rather people follow in His way because they want to and love Him, rather than just forcing His rules on everyone, and judging wrong doers hard and swiftly. He knows we are all just human and can’t help but sin, a lot of the time. 
When more people realise that accepting Jesus, His Son, into their lives is the solution to fixing the mess this world is in, then the time will be right to change things. God will judge and punish those who could have and should have chosen good and right and His ways of love and light, but were determined to go the way of God’s enemy, and God will also reward those who have done the best they knew how, and who love Him. 
“God himself shall dwell with them” the Bible says.

Revelation 21:3—And He shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

 Just imagine the enormous God of all, too big and vast for us to understand or even see, will condescend one day to be the visible, nearby King of all. He loves us all that much, and want us to get to know Him—now and in the future. God loves us immeasurably, and eternally.
The word “impossible” is not in God’s list of obstacles. He can do anything and everything that He deems is right and good. And with Him on our side—or rather with us on His—He can do whatever it takes to help us accomplish what we are here to do, for Him and for His Kingdom.

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Love
Love is the essence of the spirit of God. God is love, and all that He does makes a way for more love and His goodness to be present. Even His righteous way that He will one day put an end to all the wrongs, accomplishes this. There are no words to describe how vast His love reaches—and the love of His Son Jesus, and the love contained and passed on to us through God’s precious and Holy Spirit, who helps to replenish our merger store of love, so that all that we do too can be done in love, for love, by love, and with love; and that in turn generates more love all around; making God be more evident in all that is around. Where God is there is peace and beauty, and eternal love. The more we let His Spirit of love into our lives, the more we too will bring eventual peace and show ethereal beauty.
God showed us His love, through His gift of Jesus Christ coming to Earth to pay the price for our sins, so that we could be saved and enjoy His life and love for eternity. That’s a lot of love!
John 3:16—For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
And how are we to thank Him for it? –Simply by loving others and helping them too to know the vast and limitless love of God, and want to emulate His ways, His thoughts, the essence of His being in their lives and in the way we all treat one another. 

1 John 3:16—Hereby perceive we the love to God, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1 John 4:7,8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Jesus summed it up in these two simple points to remember:

Matthew 22:37-40—Jesus said unto Him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it,  Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. One these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

What is being loving? What specifically is a manifestation of love, in everyday life? A few things listed here in this passage help to give us an idea. And as we let God’s Spirit of love into our heart and life, we can know more clearly how to show God’s love to others in all that we do, and in the way that God knows is best and right at the time.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a—[Love] suffereth long, and is kind; [love] envieth not; [love] vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;  Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.[Love]never faileth

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Jesus, Jesus our Friend
"What the hand is to the lute,
What the breath is to the flute,
What's the mother to the child,
What the guide in pathless wild,
What is oil to troubled wave,
What is ransom to a slave,
What is flower to the bee,
That is Jesus Christ to me."
-- Spurgeon
***
Salvation
There is no other way to be allowed to dwell and live with God the Father and His Son, in His Heavenly realm, forever, unless we have accepted the payment for it. We get to live forever for free, if we have accepted that Jesus, God’s Son paid the price for our sins and wrongs, and the sins of the human race. We have to first of all believe that we, no matter how good we try to be, that isn’t good enough to earn our way to Heaven. Nor will our wrong doings, no matter how bad, cancel out our chance to be forgiven and granted access to the mansions in Heaven that Jesus said He was preparing for those that love Him and have accepted Him into their lives.

Of course we won’t understand everything about the way it works, and how Jesus came to Earth to die in our place—for God said that the wages or payment of sin, was death. 

Romans 6:23—For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

But God has made it simple enough for us to understand what we are to do. If you know that to get into a house you must walk through a door, then you can understand that to get into Heaven and get the chance to live in love and purity, in a place of exquisite beauty, you need to pass through the door God placed at its entrance: Jesus. 

As Jesus explained, this concept, this parable:

John 10:9—I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in...

What is “salvation”? It is being saved—like when a rescue worker or hero enters the scene and does something to preserve the life of the one they came to help.  And in this case, Jesus Christ is offering eternal live to us who believe that He came to Earth, that He died for our sins and rose alive again, so we could instead live forever with Him. It’s a gift. It’s free. We can’t earn it. But it’s the only way, and it’s a humbling way.
Ephesians 2:8-9—For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Just like a door is opened, we are to open our heart and believe it, and want to receive Him and His forgiveness through this free gift of life forever; and we are to open our mouth and say that we believe; confess it, profess it. 

•	Romans 10:9-10, 13—That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
•	For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
•	For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

And the good thing to know and remember is that you can’t lose your ticket to Heaven. Once you’ve chosen to accept Jesus’ gift of salvation, you are saved forever! It’s not dependant on our goodness or lost through our inability to be perfect. God knows we are not perfect, and will even make some really bad choices in life, but He will continue to forgive us and love us, and will keep helping us, through His Son Jesus, to learn to live in His ways of love. 

Romans 3:23—For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
John 3:36—He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.

When you “have” something—you have it! Jesus gives it to us, and we have it! We are saved, we are rescued, we are His always and eternally. Praise God!

•	John 10:28—And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
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Holy Spirit

God’s Spirit in us and with us can cause us to do things normally thought impossible. God sends His Spirit to believers to empower them to do an even better job of whatever we are called to do; the things that will ultimately lead people into the arms of Jesus Christ. “The Spirit and the Bride [believers] say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22:17)
God’s Holy Spirit works with believers to call others to come to know Jesus and to have their heart’s thirst quenched and satisfied with His “water of life”. And whoever hears the message God’s Spirit empowers us to pass on, and Jesus’ words, is called to also do their part to call yet others—“let him that heareth say, Come.”

Before Jesus left being on this Earth in the physical way that He was, He said to His followers that He and His Father would send a “comforter” to help them.
•	John 14:26—The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
•	John 16:13—Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
•	Acts 1:8—Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

(Excerpts from NIT children’s Bibles: )
“God gave each of Jesus’ followers a gift—some of His wonderful, loving Spirit to give them the power to do the job. As they waited in Jerusalem, just like Jesus told them to, one day they heard the sound of wind right in their house. It was the wind of God. And God’s spirit came to each one of the disciples. To show them that they now had God’s spirit, little flames of fire from God appeared above each one of them for a while. They were filled with the power from Heaven. The disciples then went out to tell others about Jesus.”
“God’s Spirit can do some pretty amazing things! And those that want to be used by Him in wonderful ways, to bring God’s love and message of salvation to others can ask Him to empower them with an extra dose of His Spirit, to do those amazing things. People who are too shy to talk with others, can find boldness. People who are weak can find strength. Sick people can get immediate healing and be a help to others then and there. People can do things they haven’t ever learned before. All these things and so, so much more, the Spirit of God can do for those who ask for it. Why not pray now, and get a top-up, too!”
So we are to pray for God to fill us with His Holy Spirit, that we may be empowered and strengthened to do His will. 
Sometimes people wonder, when trying to put the concepts of God into the box of Earthly man’s limited understanding, what “gender” is this third part of the Trinity. But if you search through the scriptures you will see much that makes it clear that the Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, is often pictured with the female attributes of God. So if we were to refer to the Holy Spirit as “she” I don’t think we would be far off. Of course we can’t understand fully the way things are in God’s realm, but it helps our human minds to put a “face” on it at times. The things God’s Word says that the Holy Spirit does for us can easily be understood as being the motherly role of the Heavenly family, the Trinity “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost”.
The Holy Spirit is sent to be a comforter, Jesus said. And God says in prophecy to the prophet Isaiah, “As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.” (Isaiah 66:13)
In Genesis God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” And it says, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them.”
Who is this “our” and “us” that God is talking with? (Obviously a mixed gender team, if we were to put it into Earthly words.) We know from scripture that Jesus was there, for “without Him (Jesus) was not any thing made that was made” (John 1:3); And we know that the Holy Spirit was there, “She standeth in the top of high places... She crieth...’When He (God the Creator) prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth; When He established the clouds above: when He strengthened the fountains of the deep: When He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the Earth: Then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.”  (Proverbs 8:2, 27-30)
So, both male and female attributes and persons are present in the Trinity, and all of us, male and female are made in the likeness of God. And best of all, we can have God’s Holy Spirit with us always—leading, guiding, teaching, comforting, and empowering us. 
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Word of God Bible 

(Excerpt from “Life’s Little Lessons”)
God’s Word is like a treasure chest full of jewels and gold. God put so many promises in His Word about His love and care for us, and each verse or promise is like something very beautiful and valuable. In fact, He even inspired the men who wrote the Bible so they would write down exactly what He wanted said! He did that because He loves you and doesn’t ever want you to feel alone or lost in this world. The more you read God’s Word, the more you will know just how much He loves you.
•	Psalm 119:11—Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
•	Psalm 119:105—Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
•	John 15:3—Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
•	2 Peter 1:4a—Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature.
God’s Word in the Bible, and what He’d like to show and tell each of us daily, is the secret ingredient to a life well-lived; having God’s Word in your life is the secret to success.
So many people go through life unguided and floundering around, wondering what to do, when all along God is waiting and eager to speak to them and tell them whatever they need to know, and help point them in the right direction.
Knowing God’s Word and the promises in the Bible gives you a strong structure to build your life around. Not knowing very well the things God has said, is the recipe for disaster, as so many bad decisions can easily be made; and a lot of unnecessary feelings of sorrow, confusion, and hurt can be felt from simply not knowing the truths laid out in God’s Word.
We need God’s Holy Spirit to help teach us and to explain things to our hearts while we read and study and memorise scripture. God’s Word—both the written Word of old, and the application He wants to show us for our needs of today, as well as fresh new Words from Heaven sent just at the moment we need it, is like a map to help us find our way through life and arrive at the right places and reach the important goals.
God’s Spirit is the best teacher, who knows our hearts and just how to help us understand things well; and God’s Word, the Bible, is the best text book and learning material.
If there was only one book that you were permitted to have—or the book you read the most often—it should be the Bible. It contains every type of writing style, and rich content and most importantly it’s what you will most benefit from. It’s more like a library than just one book, as it contains 66 books in it.
Of course you need to choose a translation that is reliable and accurate, that modern society hasn’t tinkered with in order to get their own ideas spread. It needs to truly be the Word of God, not man. (The original King James Version is the top most reliable, as the men, overseen by King James, were very careful in their translation work, and reverenced the Lord, and respected His Word as sacred.)
We ought to be life-long students of what the Lord wants to teach us and tell us, and to often study the text book, the Bible. Tests in life come frequently—tests of our humility, our love, our patience, our faith, our conviction to stand up for the truth, tests to see what we will choose and who will with side with or help. So many tests, and questions as well. But the answers and truths and guidance is on God’s Word. If we know His Word well, and are applying it to our life situations, then we’ll more easily pass the tests that come our way.
There are an increasing number of lies being taught and circulated around in the world to rob away the faith that we should be and can firmly be having in God’s Word, the Bible. But those that study the pure Word of God for themselves, and have a strong link with the Lord,  have received Jesus into their lives, and have asked for the Holy Spirit to fill them and guide them to the truth, will be able to see clearly that what God said and what the Holy Bible teaches, is the truth. This will help them not “turn aside to fables”. We should be reading what it says in the Bible, not wasting time reading about what modern unbelievers have to say about the Bible. Read the book for yourself, as God’s letter and life manual, and history book to you personally, and forget the concocted untruths set out like wolves to steal the faith from your heart. Get so strong in the Word, and in your faith, through communicating with Jesus Himself, that you can see the truth from the lies, and can smell when something is from the enemy—no matter how many so called “believers” are saying it. If they don’t preach the truth, and believe just what it says in the Bible, then ignore it and stand firm with God’s Word, along with the many many others who have done the same, and have reaped the benefits God gives to those who trust in His Word and believe him.

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Prayer

Imagine the joy you get when at last you receive a letter from someone you have been long waiting to hear from; someone dear and precious to you. Their letter encourages you, inspires you, and perhaps even gives you an answer you’ve been eager to hear. Maybe you have made fun plans for family or friends, but until you heard from them, things had to wait. Now that they communicated with you, you can spring into action and do the special things you’d hoped to enact. 
I think that’s a bit like it is with Jesus. He loves it when we finally “write Him back” or take time to communicate with Him through prayer and talking with Him. He’s sure written us plenty—all His Words in the Bible--and He loves to hear back from us and know what we think we need or want. 

•	Matthew 7:7—Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
He likes us to express to Him just how we feel things are, so then when we get His on-target answer to our prayers, we know and feel His love through the fact that He heard just what we said. He probably had it all planned and ready for us, knowing it was something we needed anyway, as the Bible says, 

•	Isaiah 65:24—And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
But Jesus likes us to put it in words, for it gives us the freedom of choice and a sense of living out our unique life, adding our personal touch to situations. Of course He could just drop down from Heaven everything we needed, right when we needed it, but did you ever think that Jesus likes to wait for us to take the time to ask Him for it and about it as it gives us a reason to communicate with Him? There’s a chance that we might otherwise just take things for granted or forget to thank Jesus for it. Or in our feeble human mind we might even think that He was just pushing His way and choices on us if He gave us things before we ourselves realised that we needed them, and made the conscious choice to ask Him for them. Also, if or when things didn’t work out the way we hoped, it would be easier for us to blame Him for making them so, if He just gave us each and every thing right when we needed or wanted it, without involving us in the decision making. However, if we see the results of our choices, from getting the certain things we begged Him for, then we see that it’s best to not just ask Jesus for things, but really communicate with Him about them, and find out if it’s what He actually knows is best. After all, He knows better than anyone what will make us and others truly the happiest in the end. Many times there might be something that we are certain we need or desperately feel we’d like, but perhaps there is something far better that Jesus has in mind. If we not only ask Him for what we need or for what others in the world need, but we learn to yield to His will and only wish for what He shows us is best, then we will be truly satisfied in the end.

There are conditions to getting prayer answered, of course. But in short, if our heart is right and in close communication with the Lord, and we are asking Him for things that He knows is good and right, and we have total faith that He not only is able, but wants to do it, then prayers are met with His loving reply and powerful, timely answers. Maybe not always in the way we thought He’d, but always in the way that He knows is truly best.
•	John 15:7—If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
•	Psalm 66:18-19—If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
•	Mark 11:24—Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Psalm 100 says, “Enter into His gates with thanksgiving”. That’s the best way to start prayer or communication—to thank Him, show Him we love Him, and are very grateful for the many, the countless ways He shows us His loving care and constant assistance. We praise Him, and this is like a password that brings us right before His “throne of Grace” to make our petitions. 

•	Hebrews 4:16—Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Jesus Christ has been granted the permission and giving the commission to take our requests. So when we pray in His name we are acknowledging His authority and unlimited power to do anything. Talking to and using the name of Jesus is what both He and God His Father have said to do. He is now our Saviour, our mediator, the one we get to God through. 
•	John 14:13-15—And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

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Joy/ Praise Thankfulness and not Murmuring

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)
 “Rejoice evermore.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

•	1 Thessalonians 5:18—In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
 “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

(Excerpts from NIT’s “Life’s Little Lessons” Gift of Faith book.)
“The Lord is wonderful, amazing, tremendous, and everlasting. There is nothing that He cannot do. He’s more powerful than everyone on Earth put together. Why not praise Him, all day long, in all that you do? He loves to hear you tell Him how thankful you are, and how you know that He can do anything. You’ll find out that the more you speak words of gratitude to Jesus, the better things will get, and the more joy you will have.

“To complain and grumble about the few things that you don’t have, forgetting all the other great things that Jesus and others do for you, shows that you don’t have faith and trust in God’s care. If you make it a good habit to constantly look for what is good about each situation and person, and you make it a practice to put those positive thoughts into words, you’ll find yourself happier. Your life will improve the more you think about the good, talk about the nice things, compliment others, and enjoy what you do have--things that you forgot about or were too busy to notice.

“Be thankful for everything, no matter what happens, because you know that if you love Jesus, all things will work out for the best in the end. Everything can and will turn out well. So why wait? Thank Jesus now, before you even see all the good that is to come. That shows faith in Him, and really makes Him glad. Jesus will be so pleased to hear these words of faith and praise that He’ll tell the angels. And all Heaven will want to make you even happier.” 
•	Nehemiah 8:10b—The joy of the Lord is your strength.
•	Ephesians 5:20—Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Praising and thanking the Lord, no matter what has just happened, or in whatever situation you find yourself, will change things for the better and shield you from spiritual attacks of the enemy. Just think, if the devil has tried to get you down and discouraged, and tried to make you turn away from the Lord because of something that has hurt you, yet you instead face Jesus with a smile and say “Praise God anyway! Thank You Lord for helping me to face this challenge—I’ll be stronger because of it!” then you win. You will have escaped. The enemy can’t use bad things that come your way to make you worse off, if you use everything to run with joy closer to Jesus. 

The moment you open your mouth to say words of thanksgiving that show faith in God’s ability to make all things right in the end, you are “entering into His gates and courts” (Psalm 100:4) and you are safe there.

Speaking words of praise and thankfulness to Jesus works wonders; speaking words of appreciation and thankfulness, noticing the good, to others has amazing results too. What we hear effects the way our body reactions, and our emotions, and our thoughts that lead us in what we do. Hearing our own self and others saying what the Lord wants us to say, will make things improve in our life. Just like God’s good and creative words brought the world into being, and good things sprang forth, the words we say and hear said can have a good (or not good) effect on the quality of our life.
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Peace/ Resting in the Lord/ No Worries/give burdens to Jesus

It’s easy to get swept up in the moment of what is happening, and to want to try to fix everything and make all things right, right away. But you know, even if you used every bit of your time, day and night, to make things be the way that it seems is right to you, you will still fall short of the goals you are striving so hard to reach. In our own human strength we can do nothing. God however, is unlimited by anything and anyone. There is nothing that is too hard for Him, or too small for Him to notice. 
With the options we have as humans on earth to choose to do this or that, sometimes we can forget that we are not to take full responsibility on to our frail shoulders for each and everything that needs “doing” on Earth. God is still and always will be in charge, and what is important to us, is vastly important to Him. He will finish this work that He started—this world. He will see to it that in the end of days, far into the future, that all whom He created can say, “He does all things well.” 
This world—and our loved ones, and the problems we face—aren’t just left in our hands for us to fix and solve and satisfy every need. God didn’t just throw the works in our lap and say, “Here, do it all—make it all right,” and walk off. It is and will always be His project. He has a plan and will make all things good in the end. He’s far more concerned then you realise, about what you fear, or what you face, or what you are striving hard to avoid happening, or reaching this or that goal that you feel He is calling you to do.
So why not step back for a moment and see the fuller picture. If all you see is what troubles you now, maybe a mental pull back to see that it’s actually in His hands—along with you as well—will give you a moment of relief, and take the weight of the burden off of your shoulders. 
Come to Him with your worries, your struggles and your cares—all those things on your “to do” list, or all those problems that you and your loved ones face. Use the vastness and “unsolvableness” of your situation to let you put things into God’s hands. Use the incapable feelings to let you learn to depend on Him. Then don’t worry about everything always being “right” all the time. He is the righteous God, and that’s for Him to solve, after we have committed the situation to Him in prayer, heard from Him on what He wants done, and then are willing to say “yes” and do whatever, absolutely whatever it is that He tells us to do.
If we instead worry about the opinions of others and what is imposed on us, that God didn’t intend, then we can get into a tangle of problems and a seeming no-way-out. 
But with God as our guide, and our burden bearer, and the miracle-man, and the problem solver, and so much more, we can have peace in our heart. Let’s not forget that we are just a speck compare to Him, and our problems are even smaller than a speck, and realise that nothing is impossible to God. We can carry an atmosphere of peace, faith, trusting, and resting in the Lord, as we go about our day; as we respond to people; as we talk to the children. 
If we have peace, the young children we care for—and everyone around us—will be happier. Getting uptight and troubled, will end up making more work for ourselves. 
Use the triple “P’s” to deal with what comes to you today: Praise-Prayer-Promises (God’s word in the Bible, and His words to you in prophecy, telling what He thinks and what to do.) Be an example of it to the children and to those you speak with, and encourage them to do the same.

•	Proverbs 3:5—Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
•	John 14:27—Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
•	Deuteronomy 33:25b—As thy days, so shall thy strength be.
•	Romans 8:28—And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
•	2 Corinthians 4:7—But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
•	2 Timothy 1:7—For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
•	1 Thessalonians 5:24—Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

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Goodness/righteous/conscience/only God is righteous

God is the only one who is really good, just, and right. He is the perfect image of righteousness. He is pure and good in all He does. Sometimes the enemy lies to people and tries to get them to doubt the rightness of God, and cause them to cast the blame on God, as an attempt to get people to pull away from God. We need to not allow ourselves to be deceived or to believe the disparaging words or false words of others. Those who have a close relationship with the Lord, and have studied His Words and His works, know that God is only true, good, pure, right, loving, hating evil, rewarding good, and very patient and forgiving—and so much more. Anything or anyone that says something differently isn’t to be listened to at all. 
God is a creator—he brings order, and beauty, sets plans in motion and completes what He begins. He puts into His creations—human kind included—a bit of His nature. He has given us a conscience to know what is right or wrong; and the more we stay in contact with Him, and the more we live according to His instructions, the better things will be. 
The most savage tribes that haven’t heard the truth and haven’t known the ways of the Lord, never heard God’s Words in the Bible, are just that—savage and thought very uncivilized. The nations that are called the most “civilized” are those whose leadership in days of old knew the Bible and the morals of Christianity, and set up the governing of the country and its people accordingly. In this modern day people are starting to think that they are the ones that have invented what is right and wrong and wish to have this as their freedom of choice—to be able to say whatever they think is good or bad, based on what they feel like doing. But this kind of thinking is bringing many formerly civilized areas and cities dangerously close to savagery again. 
Only by us all—everyone on earth—realizing that this world and all of us in it, belong to God, and He can set the rules. He is our Heavenly Father, and we are His children. When we humble submit to His ultimate and supreme leadership, then He can help us make good progress in living happy and productive lives. We can then enjoy not just civil order and peace, but genuine love motivating us. Only then can true brotherhood be realised.
Of course we will all still make mistakes, commit errors, and do things that upset others or mess things up. We are all still human. Even if we strive to be the best and do the best, but we are thinking proudly that we are better than others, and make others feel we consider ourselves a notch higher than they, this too is wrong and saddens God. While we are striving to make the good and right and kind choices, we need to remain humble in heart and mind, knowing that God alone is the only one who is always right and good, and without Him we can do nothing.

Lord, I love your ways. I love Your pure spirit. I desire You to have full sway in my life. I want only the words I say and read, the thoughts I think, and the pictures I see or draw to show forth what You enjoy and what pleases You, and what You know is best. I surrender all my own ideas of what is “right” and I ask that You will clothe me with Your righteousness: Your love, Your honesty, Your humility, Your view of things, Your wisdom. Cast down every false image that I have of the way things should be, if it is in opposition to Your ways, and is out of sync with Your heartbeat. Take away the measuring rod that I have invented in my own ignorance, whereby I foolishly and pointlessly measure others to see if they are good enough for me to love them. 
You only have one standard to measure me with, and it’s in the shape of a cross. If I love your Son and have received Him, then that’s enough for you to forgive me. Then as I let Jesus and His Words come deeper into the fibres of soul, He takes over and transforms me day by day, and makes me more like you, and causes me to love the right and dislike and hate the evil. 
Help me most of all to just bring Jesus to others, and let You, Lord, and Your Words do the work of transforming lives, and doing the miracle in my own heart of showing abundant and unlimited love. 
Let me walk in Your ways, and be a good attentive and hungry student of Your Word and instructions and counsel each day, like King David talked about in Psalm 119.
You love those that love you, and we show our love through our obedience to You. Keep me loving You with heart, mind and soul, and faithful to heed and follow what You say. 

Ephesians 5:9—For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
•	Matthew 5:8—Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
•	Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
•	Proverbs 2:6-7 For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
•	Proverbs 2:20b—Walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
•	Ephesians 5:9—For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.
Job 9:20 If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me.
•	1 Peter 3:10-11—For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.
•	2 John 2:15—Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Matthew 19:17a There is none good but one, that is, God.
Philippians 3:9 Not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.

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Faithfulness

God never fails us but always keeps His Word, and is always looking out for the welfare of all the people He made. He never gives up on us. He said:

Psalm 89:33—Neverthless My lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail.

God will keep loving us and teaching us about His vastly superior ways and modes of operating; His goals and His ideals—even if it takes eternity for us to begin to grasp what He wants us to learn. 
•	1 Thessalonians 5:24—Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

He started this world and its peoples and He shows His faithfulness to us all every day. Just think, no matter who you are or what you have done the sun still shines again the next day, giving with its new day a whole new chance to make things better and to get to know the God who has made your life possible. God shows His faithfulness by noticing our needs and answering our prayers. When those that love Him present their requests in faith and humility to His Jesus His Son, praying in Jesus’ name, God honours that.
•	 John 14:13-15—And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it. If ye love Me, keep my commandments.

Faithfulness is the foundation of a strong relationship—trust, loving respect, showing rightful honour, loyalty, keeping promises, doing our bit day-by-day faithfully, and being determined to not give up on what we need to do, or our relationship. God loves us, and is faithful to us, and wants us to be the same way with Him. He appreciates that we keep our word and do the good we promised, and stay faithful to Him, loyal, obedient, and following in His ways.

Psalm 31:23a--O love the Lord, all ye His saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth.

 If we let the world’s ways and opinions get us side-tracked, and we believe the lies rather than God’s truth, we aren’t really being faithful to Him. 

•	Matthew 6:24—No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

God speaks the truth to us, and wants us to have faith in Him and trust Him and believe His Word—and then do it, live it, and pass it on to others, faithfully, day by day, as He shows us is best.
•	Jeremiah 23:28b—He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. 

God doesn’t mind us having fun, but having fun while still doing things that please Him and will help to establish His Kingdom and reign on Earth, is being faithful.
•	1 Corinthians 10:31—Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

 If we do and see and partake of things that are in some way harmful to us or others, this hurts Him and hinders His loving plans for the good of all humankind. His Word instructs us:

•	Ephesians 5:11—And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
•	1 Samuel 12:24—Only fear the Lord, and serve him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things he hath done for you.

When we wake each day first noticing His great faithfulness to us and thanking Him for it, and then asking Him what we can in turn to do for Him, and being willing to follow through on what He shows us to do, that is being faithful to Him. One of King David’s missions was to tell others of the faithfulness of God, and he did it faithfully:

Psalm 40:10—I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
Psalm 89:1—I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make know Thy faithfulness to all generations.

When we show God that He is what matters the most to us, and we are committed to pleasing Him and obeying His Word, and putting our utter trust in Him, and doing with vigour whatever hard job or humble task that He’s asked of us, that is showing faithfulness to the God who is “faithful and just” and “abideth faithful” (1 John 1:9; 1 Timothy 2:13)
***
Yieldedness
A horse that yields quickly to its rider, in turning this way and that, will have an easier time. Yieldedness in human relationships can make things flow much more smoothly—like water gently wending its way down a stream around the rocks, first this way then that way. No one is always right, neither is anyone only and always wrong. If you are working with others who you know do want to go God’s way, you can bend and flow and take turns having the “right of way” as they say on the roads, determining which car can go first. This is to save having collisions. So it is with people. If you always think you know you are right, or only want to have things go your way, never letting others try out their good, Godly ideas, you might end up with a bumpy time. 

•	Romans 14:19—Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.

Take turns letting others lead in different things, or getting the chance to put their ideas into effect. Sometimes we don’t want to yield or give into what others are suggesting because it feels wrong to us at the time. If there is something that is wrong to be doing, and the Lord shows you not to give in or to “yield” then it’s a good time to practice having strong convictions, and standing up for what you know is best or right, or simply sticking to what God shows you to do. 
Romans 6:13—Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield  yourselves unto God.
Yieldedness, for a Christian, doesn’t mean that they only and always do whatever others say that they should, but that they are ultimately wholly committed to Jesus Christ, letting Him be the guide and having the final say in their life. Sometimes He might lead us to go along with someone else’s plans and ideas, that even though different than what we’d prefer, are equally good and will help us reach a goal. Sometimes yieldedness to God might require a different approach. We might, instead, need to politely but firmly let others know where we stand and that we will or will not do a certain thing that they are requesting. This is because we have yielded ourselves to God, and only want to do or be or allow what He knows is best, and has asked of us personally.

•	Psalm 19:14—Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

The goal is to follow Jesus and His will all the way, for that is what will bring about the best results in our lives, and what will cause His best will to be “done on Earth as it is in Heaven”. Sometimes it means we give up our own wishes for the happiness of others; other times we say “yes” to doing something that takes great determination and tenacity. Other times yielding to God’s will might be to stand up and speak and let our voice for the right be heard; other times it might be to stay quiet in order to give others the chance to speak, or to give God the chance to work in other’s hearts, while we wait patiently for the miracle.

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Witnessing

What endears you most to a friend or mate? Isn’t it when you show that their heart’s concerns are yours; that what is important to them is equally important to you—because you love them and they matter to you? 
If we love Jesus and are so grateful for what He has done for us, and continues to do for us daily in caring for the things that are important to us, we can show Him our love through minding the things that are most important to Him. 
What does His heart most crave, need, and yearn for? –The reciprocated love and friendship of each one that He made. And how are they going to know and learn of Him, and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ if they have never heard of Him before nor about His gift of salvation, or were never given a change to read His Words? Or if they were only taught a rather warped imagery of the way He truly is?
Someone needs to spread the word and get the invitations out—the way to Heaven hereafter, and the way to live a happy, Heaven-touched life while on Earth. It’s not just up to “preachers” and those “ordained” to spread the good news—the Gospel—to each one in the world that hasn’t yet heard. It’s up to each and every believer and discoverer of God’s truth, to pass it on, in all the possible ways they can. If we don’t, how can we say with our mouth that we love Jesus, but then dismiss as unimportant the most fervent desire in His heart?--For all God’s lost children to make it home to Heaven.
Many years ago someone did a bit of math and found out a shocking discovery! Do you think there are too many people to tell about Jesus, that it would take forever to reach them all? Well, of course with the world’s modern technology and speedy ways of communicating and of travelling, things are far easier than before. But ponder this:  If you only told two other people about Jesus per year, and taught them the truths in the Bible, and told them to do the same—tell and teach two other people a year about the Lord, and for each of them in turn to do the same, it would take (at the time the math was done) only about 16 years for everyone in the world to know about Jesus! How about that? 
Of course new people are born every day—so a mission to reach the children is very important. 
It’s clear there has been a very strong mission—from the wrong side--to teach the young people in the world the opposite of the truth, especially in the last 100 years. The obvious bad results of a very crumbling moral system makes it evident that God is not in the picture in most people’s everyday lives. And who suffers the most because of it? –The children everywhere in every nation, in all walks of life. 
Jesus loves children—and adults alike. Reaching out to better people’s lives with the knowledge of the love and mercy of God, and helping them to embrace the truths of His Word, helps to up the quality of life for everyone.

•	1Corinthians 9:16—For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
•	2 Timothy 2:2—And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
•	Matthew 28:19-20—Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
•	Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
•	Mark 16:15—And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
•	Luke 9:2—And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

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God’s Supply

Ever notice that there are no supermarkets for just birds to go to, with all their favourite foods on the shelves for them to buy? Nor do their nests have a compartment for storing tons of food for later? Birds aren’t just nice to listen to and pretty to look at, but they are vital to nature’s cycle. They are essential for keeping things working in the natural world, and keeping the bugs and pests in control. 
As important as they are to the running of things in nature, they don’t have even so much as a closet filled with what they’d need to keep going on a daily basis. Maybe that’s why they sing so lovely, because they have seen His faithfulness and divine supply time and again. They simply know, while they sing their morning song of praise, that the God who made them will see that their needs are met that day, yet again. Then they get busy working and doing what they are meant to—whether it’s building specialised nests, or patrolling for bugs, or finding seeds that will then help to make new plants grow, or it’s sitting on their eggs, or fishing to shock up supplies to share with their young: whatever it is, they do it. And along the way their food and housing needs are supplied. Yes, they look for food, but it’s only God that can make that wild food be there for them. They don’t worry and fret. They just “whistle while they work” and sing their songs and carry on doing what they are designed for.

•	Matthew 6:26--Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
•	Matthew 6:33—But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

We each were created for a reason. Each person on Earth is here to learn, and to love, and to make some part of the world, or a family, better in some way—if we do things God’s way. But just the upkeep of life and the struggle we often find ourselves facing while trying to supply the basic needs of our families can weigh on us. It can get us off the track of reaching the real goal, our reason for being here in the first place. Whereas we might find that life can be a whole lot happier if we realised that as we do what God wants us to do, He’ll do His part in providing everything we need to do it.

•	Philippians 4:19—But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Maybe you are meant to work at a job—for the money you think—but maybe God has an entirely different and far greater idea in mind. Maybe He led you to work there in order that you might be a light, and shine with a bit of Him in that corner. He could have provided for you and your family in some other, completely different way. And we need to realise that. 
•	Psalm 23:1—The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want [lack].

God is completely capable of giving us everything we need in all sorts of ways. But if He chose to have us work to earn our “bread” it’s not because it’s the only way we will get what we need, and we should be overcome with worry over it. Perhaps God chose to have you do that, so you will be a witness there, or so that you could learn a certain skill—and the only way to get you to be there was to have it also fill an immediate need. But when the time is right, He might change things for you. And that should not worry you either. As you dedicate your life, your time and your all to Him, and choose to do only what is His highest best for you, then you can know He will provide what you need. 
•	Psalm 37:3-5—Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
•	Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
•	Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Ask Him for your needs, yes! Pray for His supply of specifically what you need, and watch Him do the impossible. But know too, then, like the birds, that as you wake and do what He’s designed for you to do, that He will take care of you and those He’s asked you to look after.