A Step of Faith

January

January 1

John 3:16.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

The coming of Jesus was not a reaction to a cosmological mishap that God gave us His only son Jesus, but it was a grand master plan before the mishap. Whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Because man has sinned, the consequence is death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. You may be reading this devotion today and you have not fully committed your life to Him, life is only found in Jesus Christ by accepting Him as your personal savior and the death verdict is removed.

January 2

1 John 5:10

¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

If we receive the testimony of men then the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this that He has testified concerning His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. All we have to do is to; Admit our sins that we are sinful and we agree with God that we are sinners. Believe that Jesus came into the world and died on the cross for us. Commit our life to Jesus so that we can be saved and make a difference.

January 3

Genesis 3:9

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you?

The Lord God called to Adam and said to him. Where are you? God's asking of Adam was not in ignorance of what had happened, but as a concerned father would to a disobedient child. He reached out. God had to pursue Adam even though Adam was supposed to be the one to pursue God and plead with him. No matter what you have done, God will never give up on you. He pursues you because He loves you.

January 4

Mark 12:42- 44

⁴² Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. ⁴³ So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; ⁴⁴ for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.

Love is perfect. It expresses itself perfectly and it gives itself completely. The poor widow did exactly what God did by giving His only begotten son. She gave her only prized possession the two mites for the love of God. When you Love and believe in a cause, you release even that which you treasure most.

January 5

Exodus 3:9-10

⁹ Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

Love cannot be seen or touched but it can be felt. Therefore the unseen love cannot benefit the beloved unless it is expressed. Because love knows it has to be seen, without being seen it benefits not, so it compels one to act. God loved the children of Israel so much that He could not ignore the cry of their heart for freedom. God loves you so much that He cannot ignore you when you cry out in prayer to Him.

January 6

Matthew 4:8-9

⁸ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ And he said to Him, All these things I will give You if You will fall downand worship me.

The devil makes us believe we can benefit more by obeying him than obeying God. The world and its fullness belong to God. If it belongs to God, God is our father and therefore the fullness of the world belongs to the children of God. There is nothing that the devil can offer us that we do not already have. His desire is to cause us to lose what belongs to us. He came to steal, kill and destroy. Listen to what God is saying not the devil.

January 7

Psalms 39:11

When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity, You make his beauty melt away like a moth;

Surely every man is vapor.

When God at any time deals with us and with His rebukes corrects us we cannot bring accusations against His judgment but we must acknowledge that he is righteous in it; for, whenever he corrects man, it is for man’s iniquity. Our ways and our doings procure the trouble to ourselves, and we are beaten with a rod of our own making. Hence it is important to use the word of God as the standard with which we can help man to rise up without being accused of self-righteousness and being judgmental.

January 8

Psalms 18:30

As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Faith means trusting God in advance before the event. As for God, His way is perfect. And the Lord’s word is flawless. He shields all who take refuge in Him. On August 23, 2011 we had a 5.8 Magnitude earthquake; on a rector scale that shook the entire east coast of USA all the way to Canada. My first reaction to the news was that the East coast is a rare earthquake place, what is going on? I was quickly reminded that we are in the last days and the word of God is being fulfilled. But he who trusts in the Lord has nothing to fear.

January 9

Matthew 5:13

You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Salt brings flavor to anything that does not have flavor. Salt preserves anything from going bad. As a Christian you bring good flavor to your family, friends, and community. Preserve goodness around you. If we are not standing for what is good, what good are we? We are better off thrown away and to be trampled upon by the world. We are the pacesetters and trendsetters.

January 10

Matthew 6:8

Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

God knows the things we have need of before we pray. If He knows, why then is it necessary to pray? We pray in order to honor Him, to talk to Him, to fellowship with Him and to express our faith, trust and confidence in Him.

January 11

1 Thessalonians 5:23

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The soul is the seat of influence. It houses our emotions, will, and intellect. A man's character is determined by the condition of his soul. If our souls are emotionally and intellectually challenged we will face greater problems. I therefore urge you to guard your soul jealously so that there are no outside influences apart from the influence of the Holy Spirit.

January 12

Exodus 33:14

And He said, My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

At any given time the will of God may not be known. That is why we pray saying, thy will be done.  However, His presence with us is known with certainty. He promised us that He will never leave us nor forsake us. He has not abandoned you.

January 13

Psalm 5:11

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

It is trust in God and loving His name that brings the joy in our lives in spite of circumstances. Paul and Silas were put in prison for doing the work of God. Nevertheless they were not discouraged. They praised God even more though bound in chains. In their circumstance pain was inevitable but misery was a choice.

January 14

Colossians 3:1-4

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

The Biblical way of living; I have four questions for you today as food for thought: 1. Where is your heart? 2. Where is your mind? 3. Where is your life hidden? 4. When Christ appears will you appear with Him? If you are able to answer these four questions positively without hesitation you are on the right path but if you hesitated then it means you need to change your course by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior.

January 15

Daniel 9:2

In the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Daniel understood by books. It was through the reading of the word that the Prophet Jeremiah had written concerning the desolation of Jerusalem. You can only understand what God speaks of, and thinks of you, and His thoughts on issues of life when you read the Bible His inspired word. The word of God is important. Fasting without the word will not take you anywhere. Praying without the word will be praying outside the frame work of the will of God. It's the word of God that will change you and cause you to be a blessing by sharing with others your insights to the word of God.

January 16

James 1:2-4

² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Dear Brethren, be encouraged today in that as you fall into various trials, see your troubles as opportunities to grow your faith and develop your patience and resilience. Use the tribulations that you go through as the transport to your glory. Joseph though he went through trials and tribulations at the hands of his brothers, he never gave up. Even though he was falsely accused and sent to prison, he never gave up. Each trial and tribulation was an opportunity that catapulted him to his glory.

January 17

Jeremiah 6:16

Thus says the Lord: "Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

The message of Jesus Christ remains the same as methods of delivering it change with time. History helps us to understand the old paths in order to find where the good paths are so that we can walk in them. As times are evolving, it is easy to depart from the pattern but knowing your history helps you to stay on course. The servant and Apostle of God, Dr. Ezekiel Guti says, Methods may change but the word of God remains the same. Back in the days people used to only physically meet for bible study, but in our time when it is not possible to physically meet, we can use technology such as Teleconferencing or video conferencing to achieve the same results.

January 18

Joshua 4:5-7,

⁵ and Joshua said to them: Cross over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and each one of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, ⁶ that this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ ⁷ Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever.

History is important in that it shapes our future. When we look back from where we came, we are reminded of who we are as individuals, family, community or a church. Understanding where we came from helps us to understand where we are going.

January 19

Isaiah 12:2-3.

Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and