Rhythm of Faith

Luke 6:38 Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands—all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.” Some put money or the world's system of commerce before God. But the Bible states in Revelation 18 that if we put our trust in money, it's going to fail. I've found that the way to deal with money, instead of struggling with it, is to try and out-give God...because we can't. The more we give away, the more we'll receive. The more we obey Him with our finances, the more He blesses us. The more we do for other people, the more God has other people do for us. Society tells us to invest everything in the world's system and work all the time to make more money. But if we do, we'll really never have anything that matters, especially joy. And we won't be able to enjoy the money we have because we won't be using it God...

John 10:10 10… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. When you are not enjoying abundant life, you will feel as if life is full of toil. In your heart, life is meaningless and empty. You feel like someone “grasping for the wind”. (Ecclesiastes 2:11) It seems as if nothing you do adds up to much. The Bible calls this life “under the sun”. (Ecclesiastes 2:11) Someone who lives life under the sun may or may not know God, but God is either forgotten or not the center of things in his life. His thoughts are earthly and he does things to gratify his flesh. In the end, he finds life depressing and unfulfilled. Life under the sun is full of despair. But this is not so with someone who lives life above the sun with God. For life with Him is filled with joy and pleasures at His right hand. (Psalm 16:11) Life is abundantly full and good just as Jesus promised — “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”. When...

Colossians 1:17 Christ existed before all things, and in union with him all things have their proper place. Colossians 1:17 is a pretty awesome scripture. It tells us Jesus is holding EVERYTHING together. Wow! Even people who don't realize this are held together by Him. Think about it. We can't have a good marriage if Jesus isn't holding it together. If Jesus isn't leading and guiding our personal relationships, then we aren't going to have good ones. Our finances would be a mess without Jesus. Our minds and emotions would be a wreck without Him. Everything would be a mess without Jesus. If Jesus is not the most important thing in our life, then we need to rearrange our priorities. Matthew 6:33 tells us to seek God and His kingdom first because if we don't have first things first, then everything else will also be out of order and cause us problems. God's way of being, doing and seeking His kingdom, is to find out how He wants things done- how t...

Romans 8:6 To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace Right now, you and I are in the middle of a war. As long as we live in this world, we are going to have to resist becoming like it. It's a daily battle, and sadly, the church today is full of worldly, carnal, fleshly believers. But if we want to live in a way that can change our world, then we have to stop living in the flesh and start living in the Spirit. Every one of us needs to continually make adjustments to put our fleshly desires under the Holy Spirit's control and not let our emotions or mind rule us. Scripture explains that the spirit wars against the flesh and the flesh wars against the spirit, so they are continually antagonistic toward each other. It's a war! The devil hates us, and he is constantly working overtime trying to make sure that we give in to the flesh. Ultimately, you decide who wins in your life. You don't ha...

Rom 13:8 Be under obligation to no one—the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law. It's important for us to understand that the battle for our finances is really a spiritual battle. The enemy tempts us to spend more than we are able to pay off so he can keep us under pressure and distracted from our walk with God. But we need to have a goal to enjoy the life that Jesus died to give us, a life of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. We can't do that if we are under pressure and frustrated by financial debt. It's possible to live debt free by using biblical principles for managing money. My husband, Dave, says that if we learn to live within our income, or our borders, then God will bless us, our borders will be stretched, and we'll have more. Luke 19:17 tells us that God is pleased when we are faithful and trustworthy in little things. When we are, it says He will give us authority over bigger things...

You should not use outward aids to make yourselves beautiful, such as the way you fix your hair, or the jewelry you put on, or the dresses you wear. Let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; let them ever shout for joy, because you defend them. (Psalm 5:11) Women are simply incredible, especially when it comes to relationships. When it comes to marriage, women initiate the vast majority of marriage counseling. When something is wrong with their marriages, most women seek to fix it and are much more open to getting outside help. Having said all of that, there is one major fault that most women deal with as it relates to men and marriage. The problem is fear. Fear is the opposite of faith. It causes you to over-react to issues and to act in a manner that actually causes your fears to come true. The following Scripture from the book of 1 Peter speaks to the issue of women, marriage and fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting...

“See that you don't despise any of these little ones. Their angels in heaven, I tell you, are always in the presence of my Father in heaven. By now you’ve watched enough TV cop shows to know that an officer should never go into a dangerous building alone. Always call for backup. How can a parent ever fully relax? When your kids are little, they are vulnerable to a thousand dangers and risks, from SIDS to choking to falling down the stairs. But the risks are just as big when they are high schoolers and go out on the streets by themselves. What parent of teenagers hasn’t worried about automobile accidents, alcohol, and drugs? Once Jesus scolded his disciples for brushing off the importance of children. In that rebuke is a marvelous comfort for every Christian parent: “See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). Did you catch the significance? You hav...

In view of all this, what can we say? If God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8:31 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Are you faced with challenges in your life right now? Are you having marital problems and financial woes? Maybe your child is going astray or an old illness has returned. What then will you say to all these things? Do you know what God wants you to say? He wants you to say, “If God is for me, who can be against me?” If you knew that the President or the Prime Minister was for you, you might believe that everything will be okay. But you have an even better backing! The Bible tells us that God, the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is for you! What problem can fasten its grip on you when the Almighty God is for you? Can the devil come successfully against you with God on your side? If God is for you today, if God is for you right now, you don’t have to moan, “If only I h...

Dear friends, if this is how God loved us, then we should love one another 1John 4.11 Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. 12No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.13We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit. 14We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. We should be an example of God's love to our children. Parents are kids' first curriculum on God. They understand the concept of family through us and they relate those terms to the Heavenly Father and the family of God. The parent they see at home is a model for their concept of God in heaven. It is so critical that we follow after God and love each other in the same way that He loves us — sacrificially. It is important to lead by example for our children and love those around us. Are they able to see your love for others? If they d...

Psalm 63:7 7: Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. I have had people tell me, “Pastor Prince, please pray for me. I can’t see a way out of the mess I am in. I know that this whole thing is my fault. Right now, I don’t even know whether God will hear my prayers.” If you think about it, a whole lot of our troubles are of our own making. But it is when we deserve the punishment and not the blessing that we can receive grace — the undeserved favor and unmerited help of God! When we stop trying to be deserving of God’s help, we find God more than willing to be our Savior. But when we continue to try to work things out, we are trying to be our own saviors. God will say, “Save yourself because I can’t help you when you don’t need My help.” You might be thinking, “But Pastor Prince, don’t you know, God helps those who help themselves?” Contrary to popular belief, this saying that “God helps those who help themselves” is not in the Bi...

BASIC SCRIPTURE: ACTS 16:16-35 Welcome to today’s devotional! When you succeed in provoking the presence of God in your life, you live as assign and wonder to your generation. It was God’s presence that turned the Red Sea into a “TRUNK A” road.It was not the physical stature of Moses or Joshua nor was it the military might of Israel. It was the invisible presence of Jehovah. He told Moses in Ex.33:14, “ My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.” Rest, (breakthroughs, signs and wonders) is a product of His presence. When His presence left Samson, he became an ordinary man. As 2013 progresses, the presence of the DIVINE should be your greatest concern and that’s the emphasis of the Trinity through today’s devotional to you. Stop crying! Stop struggling! One second in His presence will do what men cannot do in 100 years. Acts 10:38 declares that Jesus did  the wonders He did because, “ God was with Him.” Seek His presence daily! His presence will delive...

In 2 Kings 7: This was during the time of an ongoing seige by the Syrians against Samaria. The people in the city were starving. There were 4 Lepers who  stayed outside the gates of Samaria who were starving as well, and they said to each other, “Why should we wait here until we die? They knew there was no need to go into the city as they would starve and they knew that staying where they were,they would also starve so they decided to go to the Syrian camp which was the camp of the enemy. They were so hungry that the thought of going to the enemy's camp was more appealing than death. Life was important even to these lepers. They said unto themselves "maybe they would spare our lives" and so they went to the Syrian camp and to their surprise they found the place empty for God had made the Syrians hear what sounded like a large army with horses and chariots approaching and so they ran out of fear. They fled leaving everything,their horses,tents, food e.t.c The 4 lepers ...

Christ Suffered and Died… To Absorb the Wrath of God To Please His Heavenly Father To Learn Obedience and Be Perfected To Achieve His Own Resurrection From the Dead To Show the Wealth of God’s Love and Grace for Sinners To Show His Own Love for Us To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us To Become a Ransom for Many For the Forgiveness of Our Sins To Provide the Basis for Our Justification To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness To Take Away Our Condemnation To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful To Make Us Holy, Blameless and Perfect To Give Us a Clear Conscience To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him To Deliver Us From the Present Evil Age To Reconcile Us to God To Bring Us to God So That We Might Belong to Him To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place To Become for Us the Place Where ...

Hebrews 12:2 Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne. If you are sick, you must know that you are already healed because of the finished work of Christ. Don’t ask, “Do I have enough faith to be healed? Do I have the right kind of faith to be healed? What if I am lacking in faith?” You are focusing on yourself and your faith, instead of Christ and His finished work. You should be asking, “Did Jesus take away this sickness? If He did, then He must have done a perfect work.” In other words, fix your eyes on Jesus and His perfect work. AB Simpson, who lived in the 19th century, wrote an article entitled Himself. In it, he mentioned his exhausted nervous system, and broken-down heart, which could have proved fatal any time. So h...

His mercy triumphs over judgment". James 2:13 "God will not show mercy to those who haven't been merciful, but mercy triumphs over judgment." When I read this my heart was full of joy. I had finally found something greater than judgment, something that qualifies you to make heaven without judgment. Prior to this finding, I believed that everyone must be judged before he/she could enter the kingdom of God and I'm sure there are others out there who share same believe, praise God there's something greater than judgment, His mercy. What's even more amazing is that our Lord is full of mercy and compassion (James5:11), hence there's enough mercy to cover your sins, that of family members, friends and relatives. While studying this bible passage I also discovered that God is especially merciful to us when we love Him and have reverence (fear) for Him and show mercy to others. Dearly beloved, please let us all be obliged to constantly seek Gods ...

Psalm 100:4 Enter the Temple gates with thanksgiving; go into its courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise him. There are ways to make ourselves available to hear God's voice and one of them is to enter into respectful, heartfelt praise and worship. God delights to manifest His presence and power to people who are truly praising and worshipping Him. And when His presence and power come, we hear His voice, we see miracles, people are healed, lives are changed, and transformation takes place from the inside out. Isn't that part of what you desire in your relationship with God? When you talk to Him and listen for His voice, aren't you praying primarily because you want some kind of change or transformation in some area of your life? If you are asking Him to provide a new job, that's change. If you are praying for a loved one to come to know the Lord, that's change. If you are asking God to reveal Himself more to you and to help you grow in spiritual m...

Matthew 7:11 11: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Let me tell you a true story I heard. There was a pastor whose young child was diagnosed with cancer. The day his boy was scheduled for an operation, this father cried out to God, “God, I’m almost 30 years old, but my boy is only about three months old. Why don’t you just take some years off my life and give them to my boy?” Then, from deep within him, he heard the voice of God say, “I am not like that.” When the man heard that, he realized immediately that his son’s sickness was not from God. He also realized that if he, who has faults, could want his child well, how much more his heavenly Father. So he changed his prayer and said, “Father God, I come against this sickness and I ask you for healing for my child.” That day, on the operating table, the surgeons could find no trace of cancer in the child! T...

Courage isn’t a one-time event. We can spend our whole life as a courageous adventure. When we choose to boldly take action, endure and obey through hardships, and pray with confidence, those are only the first steps toward getting even more courage. As we trust God and rely on His strength, He will continue to ask more of us. When we choose to give our whole life over to Him, He will lead us to make even greater sacrifices that take courage only He can give. Jesus lived His life this way. Day by day He courageously lived the way God led Him to. Finally, He gave His life in a final demonstration of His love for us. He gave it all. When we choose to follow Jesus, He will ask for all of us in return. Making a decision to trust God with our whole lives takes courage, but it is only the beginning of a faith-filled walk with Christ. Written By Kachi

Do you ever wonder if prayer really works? You're praying about something and Satan whispers to you, "This is a waste of time. Forget it! Who do you think you are? What do you think you're doing? God is not listening. Don't waste your time." Prayer works because God is in control. The basis of all miracles is God's sovereignty. Why does He do one and not another? Because God is in control. We have to trust His wisdom and His goodness. 1 John 5:15: He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him Ephesians 3:20 says, "God is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." (LB) Prayer can do whatever God can do. His resources are available to you. Twenty times in the New Testament it says, "Ask." It's encouraging to know that things that are out of my control...

God is just. It's His character, who He is, and it's something He wants us to pursue. Justice seeks to make wrong things right. It is us working throughout our lives to fix injustices in the world around us. Every time we see something that's wrong, our first response should be to pray about it. Our second response should be to ask ourselves, "What can I do about it?" However, it doesn't even occur to most of us. It's like we look at things and think that it's someone else's problem, and we wish "they" would fix it! We wish "they" would do this and that. Have you ever stopped to ask, "Who is they?" I think "they" is us, you and me! You may not be able to fix everything, but you can do something. Don't look at injustice and do nothing. You must do something because God did not create you for inactivity and passivity. He created you for enthusiasm, zeal and passion. He put gifts in you to be used f...

BASIC SCRIPTURE: PROVERBS 18: 14-21 You are a sum total of words: the words you’ve spoken , the words you’ve heard, and the words you’ve  acted upon. Someone said that a picture is more powerful than a thousand words. That’s not always true! As far as the bible is concerned, what you hear and what you say are more powerful! Than what you see. The power of life and death lies in the tongue and not in the eyes ( today’s scripture vs 21). So, if you don’t guard your tongue, it will ruin you. It will fill you up with every evil thing that  you detest. If you want to know where you will end up tomorrow, take stock of the kind of words that you are speaking today. The number one person that is most affected by the words that you speak is you.The Bible says that you should not curse a deaf man. Why is that important? After all, the deaf man cannot hear. It’s simply to show that the words that you speak, positive or negative, affect you more than it affects  the person...

BASIC SCRIPTURE: LUKE 6:6-10 There was a young man who had it rough early in life. One of his most treasured dreams was to become a doctor and to find the cure to a deadly disease. Unfortunately, his hopes were dashed when his parents died early. He approached an elderly man who encouraged him to rekindle his hopes and pursue his childhood dreams. He told  the man, “By  the time I become a qualified doctor I will be forty two years… it’s too long.” The man asked him a simple question: “If you don’t start training now, how old will you be, seven years from time, he would still be forty two years! So why not fulfill his dream? Never give excuse for not challenging and stretching yourself! there are many things that God has deposited inside you that will not come into full manifestation until you stretch yourself. Jesus told the man with a withered hand, “Stretch forth your hand.” The instruction was simple. The man could have complained. He could even have abused Jes...

Hebrews 13:9 9… it is good that the heart be established by grace… God does not want your heart full of worries and fears, tossed and turned by every challenge that comes your way. He wants your heart at rest and established by His grace toward you. But when you think that the breakthroughs to your challenges depend on your ability to obey God, then your heart will not be at rest. It will be full of worries and anxieties. Why? Because you can never obey God perfectly. But when you depend on God’s grace, that is, His undeserved, unmerited favor, the opposite happens — your heart becomes established. When you know that the only thing that qualifies you to receive God’s blessings is faith in the finished work of Christ, your heart becomes established. Then, you will walk without the fear of your troubles swallowing you up. You will walk with full assurance that His blessings will be manifested in your life. My friend, God wants your heart established, knowing that H...

Yes, you've got it too, I'm really excited about this discovery I'm about to share with you. Matthew 28 vs 18-20 tells us of how Jesus has got all the authority in heaven and on earth and how he has delegated this authority (power) to us, to go to people everywhere, heal the sick, baptize the unsaved and teach them His commandments.   Also, in Matthew 16:19 Jesus tells His disciples whatever they prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven and what they permit on earth will be permitted in heaven. We are His disciples today, therefore every power and authority His disciples (Peter, Paul, James, John,.......) had then, we have too.   Now my question is, why is it that when we find ourselves in unfavorable situations we pray that Jesus Christ comes to help us, to save us? When He has already saved us and given us all power, all authority that once we make a decree so shall it be. If we don't help ourselves who would help us?   When we sin, we give the de...