Healing Pt. 2

Hello Beloved Reader! I’m Faith and thank you for visiting me today! Today we are continuing with PART TWO of this healing series.

When it comes to healing, there can be a lot of questions. If I haven’t covered a particular question that you would like an answer to, then please leave a comment and the Oasis Team will do our best to find a correct and suitable answer for you.

PART ONE of this series went over what healing is, two aspects of healing, that healing is Biblical, and a couple of questions on healing. PART TWO is going over a few more questions: Is it acceptable to go to doctors and physicians? What about healing for people with mental disorders? What about going to see a counselor or psychiatrist?

Let’s get started.

Some people do not go to doctors for the sake of making a religious point. Sad to say, but this has not helped the death toll from sickness to lower. That is not to say in some cases this shouldn’t be done, but it should not be done with the sole basis of making a point.

Jesus did not command people to stay away from doctors. After all, Luke (one of Jesus’ disciples) was a physician. Doctors can be very wise in their understanding of the human body and indeed can be used as instruments for God’s glory in that aspect. But they cannot be the only source of healing. Take the woman with the issue of blood in Luke 8:43. It could be said that no one could heal her because of their lack of knowledgeable breakthroughs during that time, but even still, that proves doctors do not know all. Even today there are incurable diseases and ailments that doctors cannot seem to heal. Therefore, we cannot and should never put full trust in doctors. They did not create the human body and they most certainly do not know all there is to know about it. However, there is One who can identify with having all knowledge and creating all creation.

That being said, doctors should be accepted as a second opinion if needed. God can and will heal a person, but who knows? Maybe there is a doctor, a nurse, or even another patient that needs to be witnessed to. It might take going to the hospital to do that. So, a person should take their need to God first, seeking Him for His guidance in what should be done.

To heal means to become healthy again, but it also means to become sound again.

Now, “sound” can mean without disease, but it also means solid, stable, and showing good judgment and sense. This could represent the healing for mental states that are not sound such as mental disorders, depression, anxiety, and broken hearts. (Psalms 147:3 | Psalms 34:18) Healing for these things goes much deeper for with this healing comes a great change in a person’s life, not just outwardly, but inwardly as well. It changes a person’s mental state, in turn changing their physical actions.

Is it alright to go to psychiatrists and counselors?

God is the ultimate standard here. A person should never receive help like this from a human before they consider God and His counsel first. (Proverbs 19:21) There are many places in Proverbs where it speaks of having counselors and wise advice. It’s not a sin to receive counsel. It’s not a sin to ask for help. However, God is, again, the ultimate standard. With everything that is heard, with every word of advice received, it would be best to seek the counsel of the Lord for truth to those statements. Understand that those who give counsel should be dealing with the Lord first as well. Their words should stand with God and never against Him if a person is to get true help from them.

These healing blogs may be technical and frank, but I will state this: God is love. He has only the best interests in mind and will never try to destroy His people. Healing is in His will. His children need not fear sickness and disease.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I hope it has helped you in some way. Before we close, I want to introduce to you the Healing Course on Oasis Academy if you haven’t seen it yet. You can click the following link to take this course and get a greater/better understanding on healing in the Bible. (https://www.oasisministries.com/courses/healing-scriptures/) You can also click this link to listen to one of Bro. Anthony’s sermons on healing. (Healing Scriptures Sermon)

Thank you again! God be with you and guide you in every minute of every day!

Faith Cross

Healing Pt. 1

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith and thank you for visiting me today!

This is PART ONE of a series on healing. When you finish reading this blog, if you have any questions on healing, feel free to leave a comment and the Oasis Team will do our best to find a correct and suitable answer for you.

I like to get down to the nitty-gritty details of things so let’s define the word ‘heal’ before we begin.

Heal – become sound or healthy again

First, I will express there are two aspects of healing: natural and spiritual. The spiritual can manifest itself through the evidence of a miracle (such as a cancer-ridden body becoming cancer free in one night). We will touch on the spiritual aspect later.

I would like to talk about the natural aspect of healing for a moment. Parts of the natural healing process happen every day. Say you cut your finger while peeling potatoes for family dinner. Immediately, the healing process begins. Blood seeps out, eventually beginning to clot via platelets and a scab is formed when the clot hardens. Under the scab, the body begins repairing the skin that has been opened and when the scab falls off a new layer of skin is exposed, healthy, healed. This process and other variants of it happen all day every day.

Nature has its own way of dealing with disease and wounds. Yet, we cannot rely on nature in some cases because it can take too long to heal or even never heal at all due to weakness, lack of proper nutrients, complications, and time. Cancer can be an example here.

That being said, there is a spiritual aspect to healing as well. This can be further broken down into two aspects: a spiritually physical healing and a spiritually mental healing.

As a church of Biblical believers, MDT Church/Oasis Ministries/Anthony Wynn Ministries does believe in this spiritual aspect to healing. Why?

Well, for one, healing is Biblical. You can find this in quite a few Scripture passages. (Luke 5:15 | Acts 3:1-8 to list a couple) This concept of healing being Biblical can be proved with the Bible in three verses. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 | 3 John 1:2. As you can see through these two passages, it is the Lord’s will that we be in good health. If a person is sick, then there is even a Bible verse that gives them the right to claim healing for themselves. (Isaiah 53:5)

So, why don’t we see it very often?

That’s our problem. Yes, quite literally, we as a people hinder the almighty, powerful God from doing His great work in us and for us. How do we hinder Him? Through our unbelief. (Matthew 13:58) It is not that God is limited, for nothing is impossible with Him. It is that God is hindered from doing mighty works because we as a people do not believe He can and/or will. Belief is one of the bases of the Christian “faith,” you see? A person must believe to receive. The Bible is nothing but a story book if not reverenced as the ultimate guide and loving words of the Father. Unbelief makes spiritual healing nothing but a fable.

If we do believe, why hasn’t healing come yet?

I’m not an expert on this subject. All I can say is that it’s all for the glory of God. Take this passage of Scripture for example. (John 9:3) Some sicknesses are for punishment. Some are for the work of God to be shown through us, if not for our benefit, then for the benefit of others so that they might see His glory through us. This of course can only happen when we believe and trust that God has our best interest in mind and not only our best interest but also the best interest of others. You see, possibly through your sickness and after, you can be a testimony of God’s love to people you might never have come in contact with if you had never had your illness. It’s all for the glory of God, witness to others, and opportunity for growth in your spiritual walk with God.

That being said, is it acceptable to go to doctors and take medicine? What about healing for people with mental disorders? What about going to see a counselor or psychiatrist?

In the next blog we will touch on these questions so be sure not to miss it. In the meantime, why not check out our Healing Scriptures Course on Oasis Academy? I’ll put a link to the class below. Thank you for reading!

Healing Scriptures Course

Faith Cross

Miracles

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thank you for visiting me today! I have a passage of Scripture I want to share with you.

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.” (Acts 4:29-31)

There is more to this prayer, but this is the part I want to focus on today. The Apostles were asking for boldness to preach the Gospel. Not only that, but also to be the hands and mouth of God. The Lord loves to use people and I’m sure He was smiling down right then at this prayer. The Apostles wanted God to flow through them so that they might help heal the sick and witness with signs and wonders. In other words, they were asking God to perform miracles through them.

There are some people who don’t believe in the healing power of God. Some don’t believe miracles happen in this day and age. But, they fail to realize that they themselves are a miracle in essence.

The Bible explains that the world was created by God. Given our knowledge of science today, it is said Earth is one planet out of a solar system of 9 major planets that orbit the sun. The sun has just enough pull on Earth to keep it in orbit, but the Earth moves too fast to be pulled into the sun. Any closer to the sun and life would burn up; any further away and we all would freeze. It is said that we have discovered galaxies beyond our own Milky Way. Modern science suggests that the vacuum and darkness of the starry universe is limitless and grander than the mind can fathom.

But now let’s travel back to Earth.

According to science, every bit of matter in this universe is made up of one of the smallest things known to mankind: atoms. To give you an idea of how small they are, think of a cell in the human body. One single cell cannot be seen without a very strong microscope. You have about 100 trillion cells in your body and for every single one of those you have about 100 trillion atoms in each!

I promise, I’m not here to give you a science lesson, but to inform you that you are made up of a number of atoms that you can not even comprehend. Every single thing is made up of atoms and if we tried to understand such a magnificent number of how many atoms exist, our brains would burst.

Now, let me ask you a few questions: Did you create your atoms? Did you know how many atoms it took to make up your skin, your hair, your eyes? How small is the atom? How vast is the universe? How magnificent are the things we know nothing about and can never hope to know until we cross from time to eternity?

Miracle – a surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency

Science not based on Biblical history can try to explain the existence of all things from a humanistic point of view, but it always comes up short in some form or another. Yet, when a divine being is the base of all creation, things seem to make more sense.

That is why I say you are a miracle in its essence. For God, who knows every atom needed for the possibility of existence, put each atom in their perspective places to make you and your world.

And the very same God who placed the entirety of the universe into motion, lives inside the heart of born-again man.

How is this possible? Why would such a grand and eternal being place His power and magnitude into the heart of weak and mortal man. I cannot even tell you how such a miracle can unfold, but I can tell you of the greatest miracle of all.

The greatest miracle is not our existence and not the placement of the stars. It’s not the brilliance of the sun or the mystery of the universe.

The greatest miracle is God’s love.

Despite the constant rejection, blasphemies, sin, iniquities, the never-ending hatred, vile words, ludicrous acts of violence and terror, and all the horrors men have caused one another throughout thousands of years, God’s love has remained faithful to the soul of man.

It is by nothing we have done that He loves us. We cannot earn such love, nor be separated from it. There is nothing that can destroy it, and nothing that can waver it. His love is infinite, steadfast, unconditional, insurmountable, and completely undeserving to any human being. Yet, such a miracle of love is given to us freely, without any reason of our own, even as we betray that love.

It is because of this love that we are alive. This love holds us in deepest of troubles and carries us through the roughest of storms. Even as we were sinners, it protected us. This love heals us, strengthens us, encourages us, and is our best friend. The very same love that created everything in existence, lives on the inside of us. With God in us, we have power for signs and wonders as evidence of this love working through us to help those in need.

If that’s not a miracle, then I don’t know what could be.

Faith Cross

Addiction

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thank you for visiting me today! In this blog, we will be talking about addiction.

“Can a man make a fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” (Proverbs 6:27)

There is, without a doubt, many things you can say about addiction. But one thing you can say for sure is that it is horrid. 

What good comes from addiction to worldly things? The Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. (James 1:17) Think of those addicted and what has become of them at the end of their lives. I ask again, what good comes from addiction to worldly things? 

In a word: nothing. 

Let us take alcohol for example. For years, thousands of years, we have seen the effects of such a monster. Take the home of a man or woman who tastes of so-called “exquisite” wine. Just a little bit of wine is enough to open a door for greater desire to partake in more of the same. How much will this person spend on alcohol? What he\she spends on this addiction could be used for a greater purpose in their own life and even in the life of others. This person could be saving their money, building orphanages, helping the sick, or helping grow the church’s outreach. Instead, this person sits at home on the couch, in a blubbering state of mind with no wit about themselves as they drown in the wooing effects of strong drink. What good does this bring? What help does this give? What purpose does this serve but to find pleasure for a season? 

Because when it comes down to it, alcohol, drugs, addiction to phones, food, and even shopping – a life of addiction does nothing but destroy. There are millions of examples of this. When someone first starts out in such a way, it may not seem like they are doing too bad. But in the end, addiction is a vicious beast gripping a sorrowful soul in bonds that cannot be broken by anything they possess. 

A tool cannot cut them. Physicians cannot cure them. Spells cannot make them disappear. Psychologists cannot remove the bonds of addiction. 

Yet, I have the solution to shatter these chains. 

#1: A person must be willing to be set free. If they don’t desire peace from their situation, if they don’t want freedom badly enough, they will not be delivered. It is hard, but it is simple. Addiction has such a hold on people, yet they can be saved and the first step towards that is desiring a life of freedom and being willing to have their chains broken. 

#2: Apply the blood of Jesus and give the addiction to Him. There is no worldly thing that can deliver a person from addiction. Control must be given to the Lord. See, abstaining from what is an addiction for them is different from being delivered from it. When a person abstains from such a monster, it still woos them with thoughts, feelings, and desires of the effects it gives. Eventually, the person will come back to it. When a person is delivered, they no longer have the desire to partake of what once became an addiction for them. The beautiful, alluring voice of the monster is tainted by the knowledge of the destruction it causes. No longer will the person give in because a greater desire has taken the place of addiction. 

They desire to do what is right and live for the Lord instead of for themselves. (Matthew 16:24) Because that is what the addiction started with – desiring only pleasure for the flesh. And with such pleasure comes desolate souls and wailing. Tears be the friends of those who partake in such pleasure. Anger and fear are their companions. They have such a desperation for the things slowly killing the body and soul that they will even harm others to get just a moment’s lull from the burning desire of their addiction. 

With deep sympathy and compassion, I ask, is that such a life one should desire to live? 

If you know someone addicted, or are even addicted to something yourself, I would encourage you to take the addiction class HERE on the Oasis Ministries website for more information and encouragement. For now, I will leave you with this: 

The enemy would love nothing more than to deceive a person into skipping into Hell. Do not turn your ear to the sweet voice of temptation. Do not open your heart to doors leading further into worlds of sickening destruction of addiction. Pray desperately for the anointing in your life to break yokes and guide you far away from the voice calling you to try strong drink or other addictive material! Desire only for the will of God and allow Him to control things. 

For this! This life given to God – it is one worth living. 

Thank you for reading!

Faith Cross

How Can I Be Saved?

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks for visiting me today!

If you haven’t read the first two blogs in this series, now would be a good time to do so. You can find Part One HERE and Part Two HERE. So far, we have learned what salvation is and why it’s important to our eternal souls. Today, we will be talking about how you can be saved.

Salvation is not a thing to take lightly, for when life ends without it, the soul leaves for eternal damnation.

It must be duly noted that I, Faith Cross, cannot save anyone. Neither can Bro. Anthony, nor any other preacher. An object cannot save a person. A false god cannot save them. This salvation I speak of only comes from one eternal, perfect, sinless, sacrificial Lamb who died for all the sins of mankind.

The only thing I can do is proclaim the goodness and the mercy of God to the world. All I can do is speak of Christ’s salvation in hopes that someone might hear. John 6:44 says that no man can come to Jesus unless he is drawn. So, all I can do is speak, proclaim Jesus to people, and then the Lord uses that to draw them.

Some of what I will say here can be found on the SALVATION PAGE on the Oasis Ministries website. You can go there for some more information on salvation and resources.

To be saved…

To be saved you must realize you are a sinner and realize what that means for you and your eternal home. You need a savior. (Romans 3:23)

To be saved you have to believe in Jesus, on who He is, what He has done, and the promises He will give you. (Mark 16:16 | Acts 16:31)

You have to repent with Godly sorrow, confessing your iniquities and your sinful nature to Him. (1 John 1:9) God is kind and is merciful. He loves you so very much and will  always love you. (Romans 8:38-39) This repenting is not remorse. It’s not being sorry because you got caught for your sins. (2 Chronicles 7:14 | Acts 3:19) To repent you have to ask for forgiveness and turn from your wicked ways. That last part is very important, because that is the basis of salvation.

Hell is the reward for wicked actions, therefore turn from them and be saved from Hell!

Now, salvation is, of course, a little more than that. As we have stated in the previous blogs, salvation (being born again) is a change. This change is not outwardly, but inwardly. God washes the heart clean and works on the inside to purify a person. Salvation is not a one time deal. It’s a lifestyle change.

To be saved you must be baptized in Jesus name. (Acts 2:38)

You must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

When a baby is born, they only know what they are taught by their parents as they grow up. So, when you are born again, your heart has been washed clean, but you still need a parent. You still need someone to teach you and show you what way to take. This is what the Holy Ghost does. You need Jesus to occupy your heart or the enemy will.

Jesus died for you.

He died so you might gain this salvation to take you to a home in glory. He died to save you from this wretched piece of sinful nature we call flesh. Such flesh is imperfect and vile and continues in wickedness until the soul is damned forever to eternal fire. 

Why not be saved from this? Why not live life in a place of rest and peace? Why not live in eternal light, where there are no tears nor fear of death? For our salvation, our Lord faced beatings, stripes, jeers, humiliation, a crown of thorns, and one of the most gruesome deaths a person could imagine. What better way to honor that sacrifice than to live a life pure and holy before Him? In return, we join Him in Heaven.

When you are truly saved, and not just going through the motions, you will live for Jesus and at the end of your life when you have finished your course and run your race, you will hear Him say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant…enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:21)

Again I ask, why not be saved?

— Faith Cross

Why Is Salvation Important?

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks for visiting me today! In this post, we will be continuing with Part 2 of our Salvation series and the question we will be answering is this: Why is salvation important?

Imagine for a moment, that you enjoy ice skating. From the time you were born, you were on the ice and it’s all you’ve ever known. There’s a river not too far from your house and you like to go there when it’s frozen over to skate the day away. One particular winter, when you go down to the river, you stay a bit longer than you meant to. It’s alright though. When you get home, everything seems fine with your family, and the next day you go out skating again.

This time you stay longer than you did yesterday. This happens more and more as you get better and better at skating. But while you are skating, there are people at home who are suffering without you. They have to take care of things you normally would because you are spending all your time enjoying yourself. Yet, you don’t see it, for you’re too caught up in the pleasure of skating. You even miss the special days, like holidays and birthdays, that come by while you are out on the ice practicing different moves and tricks for hours on end.

One day, you make your way onto the ice. It’s particularly warm today, but you ignore the threat of the spring weather trying to ruin your fun. You get on the ice and start practicing your spin. The world twirls about you as you turn and the wind nips at your nose. You haven’t noticed it yet, but instead of staying in one spot, you have started spiraling toward the center of the frozen river. You also haven’t noticed that the ice here is thinner than you think it is.

When half your body plunges into the freezing abyss, you find yourself scrambling to get out, but the ice that was once your friend keeps breaking. As you panic, it continues to betray you, forcing you to stay in the cold, cold water. This ice has held you up for a season, but now the season is changing and revealing what’s really going on under the surface of the pleasurable ice. Repaying your affection with an evil, murky trap.

This is where you find yourself in need of a Savior. For without one, you are doomed to freeze in the deep, icy blue that surrounds you.

I guess you’ve figured this out by now, but let me explain anyway. We aren’t talking about ice skating here. Now, ice skating may not be a sin, but I’m using it to represent sin in my story. 

In my story, you had been on the ice since you were born. We, ourselves, are born into sin. (Romans 5:12. John 3:3.). Sin is something that satisfies our fleshly desires, whether that be executing anger by hurting someone’s feelings, or stealing something from a store because it’s easier than working to pay for it.

The ice pleased the fleshly desire to ice skate. A person looks at sin and sees it appeals to the fleshly lust of whatever their evil heart wishes to accomplish (Jeremiah 17:9). Sin gives pleasure to the flesh, so people do it. 

Sin takes you further than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs a lot more than you want to pay. Bro. Anthony has referenced this saying many times.

In the story, it started making you stay longer than you meant to. In turn, you started dismissing the people in your life, only deeming yourself as most important. Once you were okay with that fact, it started taking you further and further into the middle of the sin. Then finally, when you were so far into sin, it stopped being fun. See, sin is fun for a season. After that season, its mask breaks and reveals its true intention to destroy you. In turn, costing your life, which is a lot more than you would want to pay.

It wants to destroy you before you see there is a better way.

This is why salvation is so important. We have a part of us that is eternal. Ecclesiastes 12:7 says that the spirit returns to God when we die and our bodies return back to the dust from which we were made. If our actions in the body determine where our spirit goes when we die, the devil wants nothing more than to keep us trapped in sin so we will suffer the same eternal judgment he will in Hell (1 Thessalonians 1:9-10).

Salvation is an opportunity for escape from this reward of Hell.

Let’s go back to the story for a second. You are still in the icy water, but you see someone on the bank. You believe He will help you, but you have to cry out to Him. When you do, He comes running and with no regard for Himself, He jumps in the water. You ask Him to save you and He shoves you out of the water and onto the solid ice. Your Savior is now covered in frozen water.

Jesus became sin, who knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus died, suffering the death that we deserve. He did this so that we could have the opportunity for eternal life in Heaven. Salvation is what makes this possible.

Out of the freezing water, a person will most likely want to run as far from the ice as possible. Where is there to go from the cold of outside, but into the fiery warmth of the Holy Ghost-filled house of God? When you are truly saved, your spirit will be towards God and not towards the sin that you know will so easily destroy you.

Do you see? Salvation is important because we refer to it as the turning point in our lives, where we start to refuse our flesh the pleasure of sinful lusts which will ultimately destroy us and send us to the terrible place of fire and torment.

Not only does it save you from this place, but once a person is truly saved, they will start to witness to others about the warm love they can find in Jesus. Your salvation starts a series of events that changes the lives of those around you, and those around them, and so on and so forth.

I hope by now you understand the importance of salvation. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you will join me next week as we talk about how you can achieve this salvation!

— Faith Cross

What Is Salvation?

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks so much for visiting me today! I have a topic to discuss here that concerns the entire world.

Yes, that’s right, the ENTIRE WORLD.

There are many topics that the world might need to know about, such as topics on how to deal wisely with finances. The world needs to know about taxes, eating healthy, and how to label an envelope so it gets to its proper location. These are a few physical topics people on Earth need to know about.

What about some non-physical topics?

Take learning to communicate as an example. Most have heard the phrase, “Communication is key.” Other examples could be knowing how to think critically or figuring out how to make 1+1 = 2.

The subject we are talking about today goes deeper than any physical or mental topic one could know: Salvation.

When a person breaks the law, they are sent to jail. When a person gives to a worthy charity, they are praised. When a child hits another child, they get punished. When a child works hard and gets good grades in school, they are rewarded. When an eternal soul leaves the fleshly body, there are one of two places it will go. Heaven (the reward for a Godly life) or Hell (the reward for a worldly life). Simply put, the actions of a person are very important. Actions are things that bring about the consequences that have been set up for them. 

God, of course, has ultimate power and He has given man free will. Man has been given the choice to send himself to Heaven or to Hell. It is not God who sends them. (2 Peter 3:9) Where man ends up is dependent upon his actions.

Salvation is a change that happens within a person. It’s not a surface-level thing. I will try to break this into pieces so it’s easy to digest.

Romans 10:13 – “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Why does this “whosoever” call upon the Lord? If you read down a little further to Romans 10:14, it talks about how people can’t call on God unless they believe in Him, and they can’t believe in Him unless they hear of Him. So, these people hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ and believe in Him through hearing about His sacrifice and all that He can and will do for them. They call on God because they realize they need to be saved.

But from what?

Yes, God’s salvation does save us from Hell, but what is Hell exactly? Hell is the reward for unrepented, ungodly actions that send a person there. Check this out.

Mark 7: 20-23 – “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Left to our own devices, with nothing as a higher, moral truth to compare ourselves with, then we will do all these things. The heart of a man is evil, wicked, and will do all it can to please itself. (Jeremiah 17:9-10) This ultimately destroys the soul, rewarding it with eternal death and fire when it leaves the body.

This is what salvation is meant for: to save us from ourselves.

The devil uses our fleshly lusts to tempt us so that we will sin. This sin brings death and without atonement then death gives way to eternal damnation. (James 1:15) But Jesus, in His mercy and love, gave an opportunity for us to be saved from ourselves. In so doing, we can live eternally, abundantly,  with Him.

So, a quick recap.

Salvation is ultimately the change within a person that causes them to live in a Godly manner as they strive to discard the fleshly lusts that hinder them from having life and having it more abundantly. 

This is the first of a series of multiple blogs in which I will be talking about salvation. This week it was defining salvation. Next week we’ll talk about why salvation is important in the individual life and the world. 

Thank you for reading and be sure to join me soon for the continuation of this series!

— Faith Cross

The Hardest Thing You’ll Ever Do

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks for visiting me today.

“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” — Matthew 10:22

“But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” — Matthew 24:13

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” — 2 Timothy 2:3

“And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” — Hebrews 6:5

“Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” — James 5:1

The trophy at the end of the game sparkles, glinting in the lights, reflecting in the eyes of the proud team that possesses it. Their faces beam underneath all the sweat and dirt covering their foreheads and cheeks. They all flop down on the benches, worn out from the day’s activities. But, the proud look in their eyes never fades, no matter how tired they are. They finished the game. Yeah, there were a few scratches, gashes, broken bones, and bruises, but they won. They lasted, endured to the end, and won.

They suffered the beatings. They put in the practice. They took focus away from their loved ones and pushed it onto their progress in getting better at the sport. They rammed head-first into the barrier and after a few knockdowns got up and kept going. Some of their friends fell back and refused to go further, but that didn’t stop them from keeping on.

Enduring is a hard thing. I’m not going to tell you it’s easy. It’s not.

It’s one of the hardest things you will ever do in your life.

People in your life won’t understand and may discourage you from continuing. “You don’t need to do all that to be a Christian,” they might say. People will beat you down and sneer at you. They will hurt you and cast you aside. But you can’t stop. I’m not putting away your feelings. Give yourself some time to be upset, but don’t stay there. You can’t.

Imagine the streets of pure gold sparkling under your feet. The cool water of the River and the sweet fruit from the Tree becoming familiar friends. Your home is a mansion. And the best part is, you get to see the face of the One who loves you the most.

So, endure.

Endure the hardships, for it gets easier afterward. Endure the pain, it won’t hurt after a little while. Endure the chaos, for peace is coming. Endure the sorrow, for joy comes in the morning. Endure any looks of disgust, they’ll see what you’re all about soon. Endure the loneliness, for it drives you closer to God and helps you find those select few people who will really encourage you.

Endure this world for your short life, and live forever in the eternal Heaven with Jesus.

I want you to realize something. Think about how long forever is. Life may seem long, but it’s really not. What is 80, 95, or even 100 years? Nothing but dust in the wind or a passing wave. Gone just as quickly as it came. Forever is forever. It never ends.

So, let me ask you this:

Do you want to live like the world 80 years, talk like the world, walk like them, sing like them, and finally, at the end of your short life, die like them?

Only you can commit to a life that honors Christ. But, ask yourself this question:

What happens if you don’t?

Faith Cross

You’re Good to Grow

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks for visiting me today. 

“I don’t need people. I can get along with God just fine without them.”

The old man sits across from the younger one and listens to him rant. The young man goes on about how he doesn’t have to have all the people around him. Obviously, this young man had gotten hurt. People get hurt and used by others, even in church families. This young man was not exempt. 

The older gentleman eats away at his plate of food, never looking up. The young man defends his stance on the subject and finishes his speech. The old man finally looks up after he completes his chewing and leaves the young man with one simple statement.

“Iron sharpens iron.”

“Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man the countenance of his friend.” — Proverbs 27:17

Whether we want to admit it or not, we’ve all been hurt by someone somehow. Each and every one of us have been angry at another person for doing us wrong. To be honest, I think it’s inevitable in this life to have pain from the actions of others. It will happen regardless of what you do to try to stop it.

Sometimes the Bible references us as trees, so think of yourself as the trunk of a tree. Some people in your life are leaves. They are there to provide shade and sometimes give you a little nourishment here and there. But, don’t be fooled. They are only around for a season. After that season, they fall away.

Some people in your life are like the branches. Some are stronger than others, and some stay longer than others, but be careful because when storms come or pressure comes, they aren’t strong enough to support you.

The branches will break away.

But, there are some people in your life that are like the roots of a tree. Those people are grounded. Roots hold the tree in place and gather nutrients from what the tree is planted in – the soil. If you can find a few good roots in your life who are grounded in Jesus Christ and His Word, then you will be good to grow.

Those roots are the iron that sharpens iron. Those roots will be those who help strengthen you and help hold you up. Those people will be the ones with you through thick and thin. They will encourage you in God and care enough about you to let you know when you’re about to make a mistake.

We’ve all been hurt. I’m not disregarding your pain. I know it aches. But, think about the people in your life who are seasonal, those who are around for a little longer, and those who have always been there. Let the seasonal ones go, the branches too, because you can’t cry over them forever. You’ll make yourself miserable. 

Be thankful for your roots and cling to Jesus. For He will never leave you. He’ll always be there.

Faith Cross

Thine ONLY Son Isaac

Hello, Beloved Reader! I’m Faith. Thanks for visiting me today.

“And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering up on one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.” — Genesis 22:2

Now, let me relay some of Abram’s story to you. Abram lived for a bit with his family and took himself a wife by the name of Sarai. God tells Abram to leave his country and his kindred and go to a land He would show him. So, Abram did. He travels. Many things happened, but one thing in particular that didn’t happen was the lack of child bearing by his wife.

Now, God had made a covenant with Abram, telling him his seed would be like the stars in the sky. But, Abram had no son, and his wife told him the Lord had restrained her from bearing. To give Abram an heir, Sarai gave her Egyptian maid, Hagar, to Abram to be his wife. Hagar bore Abram a son. And a little bit after, Abram died.

“Faith,” you might say, “You know the story doesn’t end there. He doesn’t die. He has Issac and lives to be really old and stuff.”

No, Abram died, and so did Sarai.

God comes to that man and says, “Your name is now Abraham. Your wife’s name is now Sarah.”

A little later down the road, Abraham has Issac and God comes to him, telling him to take his only son Issac and offer him. Brother Anthony touched on this in one of his messages.

“But God,” Abraham could have said, “He’s not my only son.”

“Abraham! Take thine only son, Isaac,” God replies.

“But God, I have two sons, Issac and Ishmael.”

“No, Abraham!” God says, “Ismael’s not your boy. He’s Abram’s boy. Isaac is Abraham’s boy. I changed your name. I made you a new person.”

When God changes a person, He starts over. It’s a clean slate. It’s new. You’re not the same as you were before, and you aren’t tied to your past. Your past is gone and your life is beginning again. Hence being born again. Isn’t that absolutely wonderful?

Our past is no more. Why do we constantly beat ourselves up over it? Live and thrive, no matter your past. God picked you up and turned you around. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus, and don’t you forget it!

Faith Cross