NCarolinian

Since Noah and especially Abraham, faith has been the " confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) . Five verses later, the writer of Hebrews continues to explain - " And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6) . The arrival of Christ Jesus, the Word of God in our flesh, Son of God and Son of Man not only continued The Faith, but strengthened it. Hundreds of prophecies written hundreds of years before the life of Christ, described in detail The Messiah - Jesus of Nazareth. His life here on earth was full of demonstrations of how our heart, mind, words and actions should align with His in order to be true kids of the kingdom. Fast forward to the end of Christ's mission of salvation, after His resurrection and you will notice He took the time to meet with people. " He appeared to Mary M...

The main thrust of this lesson is to be extremely careful what you entertain or consider in life. This is a huge reason Christ prompted believers to pray – “and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” ( Matthew 6:13 ). The Greek word used here and in many instances is peirasmos , meaning placing under scrutiny, testing or proving. Christ desired for us not even to arrive at the point of temptation. This desire by the Lord is a life-long development process by His believers. I like to call the actual development a Moment of Pause . This temporary halt in action and words when tempted or tested mentally, physically or spiritually should immediately be followed by inquiry of The Lord and/or the Holy Spirit. Temptation is the invitation to sin or rebel against God, not the act itself, so call upon The Lord first. Believers in Christ do have a few things in our favor. First, our bodies are vessels of the Holy Spirit ( 1 Corinthians 6:19 ) who will be advocating on our be...