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    Without: 31 Days to Increase Your Faith
    Without: 31 Days to Increase Your Faith
    Without: 31 Days to Increase Your Faith
    Ebook119 pages1 hour

    Without: 31 Days to Increase Your Faith

    By Chris Stephens

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    About this ebook

    Written by Dr. Chris Stephens, Pastor of Faith Promise Church, this book is a 31-day devotional written to encourage his congregation to trust God in each area of their daily lives.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChris Stephens
    Release dateDec 9, 2015
    Without: 31 Days to Increase Your Faith

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      Book preview

      Without - Chris Stephens

      From the pen and heart of your Pastor,

      2016 is going to be the greatest spiritual adventure we have ever experienced together as a church family, and it will also be the same for your personal life. We have prayed, worked, and prepared for this time for almost a year. As many of you know, each year we have a theme for the year given by our Lord. Last year’s theme came from Psalm 92:12-14: PLANTED IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. Early in 2015, the Lord spoke to me and gave me the theme for 2016. This gave us time to really prepare for you.

      The simple fact that you’re reading this signifies your desire to grow and honor God with your whole heart and life. For this I am very grateful, and I’m so excited to get to play a small part with the Holy Spirit in your spiritual growth. God has clearly revealed that, Without faith, it is IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD. So, we have created for you a faith journal for your faith journey. I am super stoked about this transformational tool to aid in your spiritual growth and the walk of your ever-increasing faith.

      I’ve never been more excited for you and your potential to grow and experience God at a whole new level. As your Pastor, I’m asking you to dive into this tool with all your heart. Some of the things I will ask you to do will be new and possibly uncomfortable—maybe even a stretch. Other things will be normal and comfortable. There’s no way to grow without getting outside of your comfort zone. Please do each exercise. What you will do, read, and think will be my secrets to growth. Go into this month and year with full faith that Jesus will meet you with great power to transform you.

      Remember, God will meet you at the point of your faith and the level of your expectations. Believe with me that this will be our best year yet with our Lord. I can’t wait to see and hear all He will do in your heart and life!

      Love ya,

      Pastor Chris

      HOW TO USE THIS

      TRANSFORMING TOOL

      It is with great love and care that I have prepared this tool for you. I have prayed over each word and thought, that it will impact you in a supernatural eruption. We designed this book to be used as a daily devotion for January. Many of you will use this book all year. I know I will. There are several parts of the devotion for each day.

      First, is the Daily Declaration. You will hear much more about this in one of the first messages of the year as we take on the subject of faith. Faith is calling those things which are not, as though they are. (Rom. 4:17)

      As you will notice, each declaration is titled Homologia. This is a Greek word that is translated as confess or profess. The literal translation is, say the same word. Homo = same, and logos = word. Say the same word, as is in the Word. Say the same things Jesus said. What you profess, you will possess, either positive or negative. It is up to you!

      Some of you will say that this is not reality. You will not do it. You just call it like you see it. It requires no faith at all to use your words to describe how a situation is, but real faith declares how it will be. Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

      In the book of Joel, the weak are told to say, I am strong or mighty. Your salvation was a result of your confession: Romans 10:9, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord… You are already a confessor—we all are. Your baptism was a confession of Jesus as your Lord.

      This part may be difficult at first for some people, as it was for me. Please just do it. Say it out loud. I began this discipline several years ago in my journal. I called it I Declare! As you confess, your faith will begin to sprout and grow wings. Be it done to you according to your faith. As I listen to the confession that comes out of the mouths of most Christians, it is not very positive. Many, even most, confess negative futures, bad circumstances, diseases, problems, and a whole host of nasty stuff. My confessions will be faith filled with a positive view of the preferred future God has for me and for you. I believe this discipline, and declaration will change your life. No doubt it has mine!

      The second part of each day, entitled, God, Please Open My Heart and Mind, is a devotion I have written for you. I’m so grateful to many people who have made this devotional so much better. Three people are Michele, my wife; Gloria, my assistant; and Pastor Josh Whitehead. This section is to challenge and change you, inform you, and encourage you in your daily walk and growth with Jesus.

      The third section, titled Listening to the Lord’s Voice, is a guided devotion for each day. I have given you a list of questions, thoughts, and verses. Please don’t rush through this part or you’ll miss hearing the voice of God. Stop striving or be still and know that I am God. Listening is the most difficult of all the disciplines.

      I am so fired up about how the Lord will speak and move in your heart! Remember that there is no such thing as a microwaved personal growth plan, deep walk with God, or ever-increasing faith. The only way to deepen your devotion and relationship with our Lord is to spend time with Him.

      The fourth daily element is Gratitude, and in this part you will list what you’re thankful for each day. When you focus on gratitude, you’ll become more grateful. As I will say many times in this book—your focus is your choice. I choose to be positive, walk in faith, and believe God for the best. So daily, see if you can fill in the blank with something different. I talk to blessed people every day who complain about what they do not have, why they do not have more, and how they always get the short end of the stick. I look at them and see nothing but the hand of God. They see something different. We each have a choice concerning our focus. A change of focus can change your destiny.

      Dive in!!!!

      SOME ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

      ON HOMOLOGIA

      I just finished up the daily devotionals. They took far more time than I thought. I am so fired up and excited at the thought of your spiritual growth this year. It WILL be your best year yet! As I read over each day, I realized that for many of you, the section titled HOMOLOGIA will not be easy for a multitude of reasons. So I felt led to write a chapter to help you dive in. Believe me, I didn’t want to write anymore. This chapter was developed out of a message given by Pastor Brian Houston at Hillsong Conference 2015.

      Our salvation begins with a confession. Romans 10:9-10 says, Confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord…for with the mouth you confess…resulting in salvation. Christians are by definition confessors. But it’s not just Christians—everybody is a confessor. So, what are you confessing? What are you speaking to your kids? Do you speak worry, defeat, hate, and skepticism? Our theme for the year is WITHOUT FAITH IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLEASE GOD!

      The first section every day is to help you grow in your confession. Are you speaking words of faith, hope, belief, life, and a fantastic future? Faith is heard. Faith is belief that changes everything about us—the way we think that changes the way we speak and live. Galatians 3:5 says, So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Daily, you should hear faith coming out of your mouth.

      God should be hearing your faith and belief. This is why your confession is so important. Please don’t let your season of life frame your confession. You may be going through a tough time right now. Learn to speak the language of faith. Daily, we want to change our tone and tenor to triumph, not defeat. Faith without a powerful confession is like a checkbook without a signature.

      Hebrews 3:1 says, Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession. The word confession in Greek is homologia—the same word. Homo = same, and logos = word. We live in a society saturated with unbelief and negativity, which is the antithesis of faith. So daily,

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