The Lord is good and His mercy endures forever! This is the theme of our hearts for you this month! What a wonderful truth we have to celebrate – God is good, He is with you, and He is for you; and He is always available to be your very present help in trouble!
Jenny and I, together with our faithful team, want to thank you for your continued prayers, support and enthusiasm concerning the vision of this ministry! The Lord has been so good to us! For 24 hours a day, every day, we are able to saturate the airwaves over the nations of the earth with the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! And you are a very valuable part of this heavenly assignment! Your partnership means so much to us and we pray for you daily! We are also thrilled to hear your testimonies of how Faith TV has been such a blessing to you! As you share the truth you receive from our programs, more lives are impacted and the Good News continues to impact peoples lives everywhere! Thank you for being such wonderful ambassadors!
Today we want to take a moment to encourage you in the Word. So, find a comfortable spot where you can be alone and focus on this message, because it is inspired by the love of God, and written with you in mind.
In this life we are guaranteed to come face to face with things that will threaten to steal our peace and joy. In fact, in John 16:33, Jesus said we are going to face tribulation in this world. The Greek language describes tribulation as a situation so difficult that it causes one to feel stressed, squeezed, pressured, or crushed. During those moments of intense difficulty, it’s very easy to feel overwhelmed and discouraged. The danger is that if we aren’t careful to shift our attention off of the trouble and onto the Lord and what His Word says concerning us – our hearts can become far more sensitive to what we see, hear and feel in the natural than what we know to be true in the realm of the spirit.
When we allow our thoughts and emotions to continue in that direction, our souls begin to spiral into a place of hopelessness and unbelief, which results in what the Bible calls a hardened heart. In the 6th chapter of Mark, Jesus identifies this heart condition in His disciples.
In Mark 6:45, After a full day of teaching and ministering, Jesus instructed His disciples to go ahead of Him, in their boat, and sail across the lake to a place called Bethsaida. It was already late in the night when they reached the middle of the lake. On land, Jesus saw a huge storm Had approached and His disciples were struggling for their lives against the wind and waves. So at 3am in the morning, He stepped onto the water and began walking towards them. The Bible says He was going to walk past them, but their cries of terror at seeing Him, thinking He was a ghost, caused Him to come straight to them and climb into the boat. Of course, the moment He did, the storm calmed and so did the disciples’ shattered nerves. They were completely amazed that Jesus had defied the laws of nature by walking on the water and calming the storm.
In Verse 52 it says, “…their hearts had grown callous [had become dull and had lost the power of understanding].” Why would the Bible say that about the condition of their hearts? Well, just hours before those men got into the boat to sail across the lake, they had witnessed Jesus miraculously feeding 5000 men and their families with 5 small loaves and 2 fish. This alone should have settled in their hearts the truth that Jesus would never fail to provide or protect them, especially when they followed His instructions. So after seeing Him perform such a miracle, the storm they encountered should have triggered off faith-filled thoughts instead of thoughts filled with fear.
Jesus expected them to take the time on their boat ride across the lake to meditate on the wonder of Him working the impossible in front of their eyes. So when the storm arrived, they would have looked at it with hearts of expectant trust, saying, “Let’s see how He is going to get us out of this one!” Even His walking on the water should have strengthened their faith – knowing He had the power to save them. Unfortunately, their hearts were still far more sensitive to what they saw, heard and felt in the storm around them than what they knew to be true about Jesus. The first part of Mark 6:52 explains it like this, “they failed to consider or understand [the teaching and meaning of the miracle of] the loaves…”
When we put both parts of the verse together it says, “For they failed to consider or understand [the teaching and meaning of the miracle of] the loaves; [in fact] their hearts had grown callous [had become dull and had lost the power of understanding].”
We must be very careful to keep our hearts in check. We cannot afford to be so overwhelmed by what we face in the natural that we completely forget the Helper who is and has been with us all along. Refuse to be distracted into having a heart that is hardened by unbelief. Consistently and deliberately, keep your attention turned towards the truth of God’s Word, and your affection towards the Spirit of the Lord Who dwells within you. He is your faithful God Who will never fail to deliver you out of trouble and lead you into victory – as you intentionally draw near to Him and keep His Word alive in your heart!
We encourage you to spend time meditating on these scriptures, with this teaching in mind:
Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (AMPC).
James 4:8, “Move your heart closer and closer to God, and he will come even closer to you. But make sure you cleanse your life, you sinners, and keep your heart pure and stop doubting.” (TPT).
The word heart in this verse refers to the soul – the place of our thoughts, emotions and will. As we keep our minds fixed on the truth we know about the Lord, from His Word, doubt will be washed away and His love, peace and joy will keep us strong as we are led into victory!
1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (AMPC)
1 Corinthians 2:14, “But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere” (AMPC)
We pray that the truth of this message strengthens you greatly, and re-enforces your your faith in the Lord.
As you ask the Lord what He would have you give into Faith TV this month, be assured that your trust in and obedience to Him will always position you in a place to receive His abundant provision.
We love and appreciate you so much!