Category: faith

Sarah’s DUI

Posted on by Evangeline

Sarah's DUI

Did you know that Sarah had a DUI thousands of years ago?  Her DUI was, of course, not driving while intoxicated/under the influence; it was “Deciding Under the Influence” – of doubt. Sarah made some life-changing, not-so-good decisions under the influence of doubt. Her strong incredulity about God’s promise of a son came back to bite her. Because it was taking so long for her to see the manifestation of the son God had promised them, doubt started to cloud her judgment. She made a doubt-influenced decision to help God keep His promise.

The details of Sarah’s DUI and the consequences of it were not pretty. You can read her story in Genesis 16. Doubting God’s goodness and His faithfulness to keep His word influenced her to offer her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abraham. Sarah decided to have her husband to take Hagar as a wife and have sex with her so that the slave could produce the heir that Abraham so desperately wanted. And of course, Abraham gladly cooperated! He probably thought that he was winning all the way around—sex with a “pretty young thing” AND producing the son he always wanted. But that was not God’s plan. As a result of this DUI, Sarah did not experience God’s promised gift as quickly as she thought.

God’s plan was for Sarah to birth a son. A surrogate was not going to bring forth the child of promise that He had planned for Sarah and Abraham. Even though it looked impossible, even though it took a long time, God’s plan was still the best plan and He did not need Sarah to run interference and attempt to force His plan to come to fruition.

Have you ever had a DUI like Sarah’s? Are there times when you struggle because you’re making a decision under the influence of doubt?

Decide to rest in God’s promise. Decide to be still and know Him as God of your circumstances. Your best efforts can never measure up to what He can do to bring good things your way!

 

 

Image from Springfield News Sun

Focus Friday – Believe It

Posted on by Evangeline

Believe - FaithBelieve.

It means to be fully persuaded by someone or something. Are you fully persuaded by what God has said and what Jesus has done about your situation? Have you cut off all other options and decided  to believe that God’s Word is your truth?

Focus on the following scripture throughout the day because God’s Word is Truth. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day– by doing so, you’ll encourage yourself!

“I have sworn by my own name;

I have spoken the truth

I will never go back on my word.”

Isaiah 45:23a  [NLT]

Focus Friday – Covenant

Posted on by Evangeline

Covenant is defined as a bond, a mutual agreement, or a promise.

Biblical covenant is God-initiated. Biblestudytools.com explains, He determined the elements of the covenant and confirmed it with humanity. It is unilateral. Persons are recipients, not contributors; they are not expected to offer elements to the bond; they are called to accept it as offered, to keep it as demanded, and to receive the results that God, by oath, assures will not be withheld.   

Jesus died and rose again to establish a greater covenant than had previously existed. His is a love-based covenant.

Faith accepts that every promise made by God is certain to be fulfilled because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross.

His covenant assures us that He will withhold no good thing from those who trust Him to be loving toward them.

What will you do today to ensure that your words and actions reflect trust in God’s covenant with you?

 

Faith

How to Mix Expectancy with Your Faith

Posted on by Evangeline

Faith in God is required to live a life filled with His love and His blessings. Faith in Him means we believe He exists and that what He says is what will be. The more we focus on Him and believe in what He has said in His Word, the more we change how we think.

But simply believing is not enough. We must mix expectancy with our faith. We must expect that God will do what He said He will do. Expecting God to come through on our behalf means that  we trust what He has promised. And when we trust His integrity about His promises, we  can live anticipating that His promises will be manifested. What is that expectation called? Hope.

hope - H.O.P.E.

Hope is having positive, confident expectations. Hope is vital!

Live everyday expecting good to come your way.

Look forward and anticipate God’s wonderful promises being manifested in your life. Psalm 7:13 encourages us to do so:

“What would have become of me if I had not believed to see the goodness of the Lord?”

“…believed to see.” That’s expectation. Notice the order of the words– it’s not see to believe, it’s believed to see. Believing with expectation comes first and then seeing/manifestation comes afterward. Expectation is a high level of confidence that something will happen, in this case, that the goodness of God will be manifested. Instead of having a fearful attitude about your life’s circumstances, maintain an expectant mental attitude when it comes to what you desire to receive from God. It’s always helpful to focus on Jesus’ love and integrity and not allow fear to diminish your hope.

When you pray, do you expect to receive what you’ve requested from God? Expectancy should be mixed with your faith. Not only are you asking God to do something that He has already promised in His Word, you are also mixing expectancy with your faith in His promises. You do so by looking forward to the fulfillment of the promises and by acting as if that fulfillment will occur.

I once read a story of a little boy whose town had been experiencing drought conditions for quite some time. He asked his mother if they could pray together and ask God for rain. She did so willingly, excited that her son wanted to Faith and Expectancy - umbrella and raincommunicate with and trust God. Later that day, as they left home to run errands, the little boy walked out of the house with an umbrella. His mother asked him why he was taking  an umbrella when there was not a cloud in the sky. He replied, ” Because we asked God for rain.” He expected God to answer his prayer!

When you pray using God’s Word, having faith in His promises, walk away from that time spent with God expecting Him to come through on your behalf. Do so even if it means expecting Him to make a way where there seems to be no way.

The Bible is clear, nothing is impossible with God! What good thing will you expect God to do on your behalf today?

You Talkin’ to Me?

Posted on by Evangeline

  The problem that you’re facing right  now may seem like a tough guy that won’t go down easily. You may feel overwhelmed, like there’s no hope of victory. But have you considered the account of David and Goliath? David spoke with confidence, telling the giant that he was “going down” because he was approaching Goliath in the unquestionable and unbeatable authority of the God of Israel. Have you read about the event where Jesus spoke to a tree and it shriveled up at its roots (Mark 11:12-21)? Jesus told that tree that its deception would not be tolerated. Perhaps the details of the battle between Israel and the Amorites (Joshua 10:12) will encourage you—that’s where Joshua spoke to the sun, telling it to stand still. Amazing! The account of Jesus speaking to the storm is also a good reminder of how our words can be instruments of peace in our lives.

Whatever you’re facing today may seem hard to overcome. It may even feel like the situation is standing before you taunting you, saying, “You talkin’ to me?” But don’t be fooled! Jesus has told us that when we have faith in Him, even the thing that seems like an immovable mountain must move.

“I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.”

Mark 11:23 HCSB

Be encouraged! Turn the tables on your tough situation and become tough in the face of the mounting evidence that seems insurmountable. Be swayed not by what you see or what you are experiencing, but only by what God has promised. Faith speaks. Keep speaking God’s Word to your circumstances. His words, spoken through your mouth in faith and acted upon with confidence, will always work to fulfill His good plan.

How to Have Strong Faith

Posted on by Evangeline

Have you been wondering how to have STRONG faith?

strong faith

“Let us hold tightly to the confession of faith without wavering; for He is faithful that promised.” ~ Hebrews 10:23

The character of Jesus is such that He would NEVER lie (Numbers 23:19). His character, which is completely based on love, paves the way for having strong faith in Him because He would never make a promise and then go back on His Word or fail to fulfill it. Hold tightly– don’t loosen your grip on His promises. God’s words and His promises are true. Get into the habit of confessing your faith in them out loud.  The passage in 2 Corinthians 1:20 assures us that His answers to His promises are already “Yes” in Christ.

How can you have strong faith?

Romans 10:17 informs us that faith comes by hearing:

“So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” (NLT)

“The Good News about Christ” is that He has finished all the work and fulfilled all the requirements necessary in order for the Father to say “Yes.” There’s no work left to be done except to believe in Jesus’ love and His willingness to bring good things into our lives (John 6:29). When we hear ourselves reading about His love and repeatedly hear ourselves saying God’s words, it builds our faith. When we hear ourselves speaking the specific promises God made about our personal situation, it builds our faith in those promises. It increases our confidence in God’s integrity, in His ability to do what seems impossible, and in His willingness to do everything He promised.

Doubt is the enemy that comes along to plug our ears to the Good News  so that we’re not hearing God’s promises. Doubt distracts us from looking to Jesus. When we’re enticed by the devil’s doubts to give up on God’s promises, we must react by speaking God’s Word to those doubts. By doing so, we choose to retain hope within our soul and expect God to do what He said He’d do. Our  soul, which consists of our mind, will, and emotions, must choose to believe the promise, speak the promise to the problem while undergirding that confession with hope, and “act as if” the promise is already true.

When we have confidence in God fulfilling His promises and we have only a strong expectation of a good outcome, that is when we are empowered and living with strong faith.

 

Focus Friday – It Takes a REAL Act of Faith

Posted on by Evangeline

Faith is believing God’s words.

Having faith in God’s promises means you allow the words in His promises to become influencers of how you think and act.

Focus on the following scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for your circumstances because God’s Word is Truth. Act like it is your truth.

Real Act of Faith

Focus Friday-Delayed

Posted on by Evangeline

Delayed does not mean denied!

Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word about His promises being firm and true for you in Jesus’ finished work on the cross. It’s what He desires us to believe. Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth.

Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day. Personalize it by putting your name in it!

focus friday delayed

Focus Friday-Believe

Posted on by Evangeline

Focus on this scripture throughout the day. It’s God’s Word and it’s what He desires us to believe.

Believe it is true for you because God’s Word is Truth.

Use it as an affirmation. Speak this Word to yourself throughout the day.

Personalize it by putting your name in it!

Evangeline Colbert Focus Friday Affirmation

Guest Blogging Today

Posted on by Evangeline

I’m honored to be a guest blogger at www.waitingforbabybird.com today.

Come check out my post that I shared with Elisha Kearns’ readers!

 

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