Home Archives for equipping

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Nurturing Lifelong Faith in a Turbulent World

0

As you’ve read in my previous blogs and newsletters, I have a heavy burden for protecting our children and grandchildren from the wiles of the evil one. Satan is no longer sneaky and sly in his tactics. He’s open, blatant, and ruthless in going after our children in the schools, libraries, entertainment, games, sports, sexualization, gender confusion, and child-sex trafficking, while liberal “progressive” politicians on the left and media are complicit with the devil’s evil demonic ways. As a grandparent, I find it horrifying to watch the legal system working as accomplices to the breakdown of the family and taking away the rights of loving parents.

Satan had a minor setback with the overturn of Roe v Wade, so he’s now targeting his evil attacks on the children given precious life.

Children Are A Gift From God

Children shine with exceptional and extraordinary worth that exceeds all other God-given blessings. These priceless souls arrive in our arms as eternal treasures bearing the very image of God. As stewards of these divine gifts, we have a duty to equip ourselves for their proper care. It sounds like such a daunting task, and at times, it can seem overwhelming. We need tools and insights steeped in Scripture and spiritual wisdom that will empower us when we feel inadequate to guide our children towards a lifelong commitment to Christ.

The Bible does tell us that parents bear a sacred responsibility when it comes to nurturing children in the ways of the Lord. Joel 1:3 instructs parents to impart the truths of their faith to their children, who in turn, will pass on this sacred legacy to future generations. The Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry and platform God entrusted me with almost 30 years ago is exemplified in this verse.

Tell your children about it in the years to come,
    and let your children tell their children.
    Pass the story down from generation to generation. Joel 1:3 NLT

This cyclical transmission of faith serves as the bedrock upon which the continuity of Christianity rests, echoing the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19–20. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Lee Ann Mancini Wants to Help Parents!

A book from an author friend of mine has come along at the perfect time to help parents and grandparents raise and nurture children for Christ and not the culture. Today’s Monday Morning blog is featuring author Lee Ann Mancini’s new release Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God. (No relation to my daughter Kimberly Mancini) Let me share with you some thoughts about Lee Ann’s book because we all have children in our family and community. We all should care about their souls.

Our culture’s current trend toward moral relativism amplifies the urgency of instilling a steadfast faith in our children. Lee Ann Mancini provides the solutions we need in her new parenting guide. Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God offers invaluable insights drawn from both scripture and cutting-edge research in childhood spiritual development. As the CEO of Raising Christian Kids and a distinguished professor, Mancini emphasizes the vital role of parental guidance rooted in love and joy, safeguarding children from the perils of faithlessness.

I often ask audiences when I’m speaking on mentoring, “Are you the men and women you want your children to become?” “Do you have the marriage you want your children to have?” “Do you have the faith you want your children to live out?”

Lee Ann also recognizes parents are the primary educators and spiritual mentors in the lives of their children. She stresses that the way we live proves the most significant character lesson we teach. Lee Ann says that our actions and attitudes serve as the blueprint upon which our children model their own beliefs and behaviors. Her book shares insights on how to exemplify a life centered on the Word of God so we can provide a living testimony of Christ’s transformative power. Faithfully measured, our personal steps will lead our children and grandchildren towards a deep and abiding relationship with their Savior.

Lee Ann emphasizes the cornerstone of parental efforts must rest upon the unwavering truth of God’s Word. Just as Jesus is the living Stone chosen by God, so too must His teachings form the solid foundation upon which our children’s, and grandchildren’s, faith is built. Amidst the storms of life, anchored in Christ, they can stand firm unwavering in their devotion to Jesus and unyielding in their faith convictions.

As many of us know so well, the journey of raising children in the faith comes with a myriad of challenges. In a world hostile to Christian values, we must remain vigilant in equipping our children and grandchildren with the spiritual armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) necessary to withstand the onslaught of worldly temptations. Through prayer, guidance, and unwavering commitment, we can nurture within them a love for God and His Word thus empowering them to become beacons of light in a world shrouded in darkness.

Lee Ann esteems the calling to raise godly children as sacred, but she also shares her parenting advice with the hope of grace. It is never too early, nor too late, to inspire our children to love Jesus and develop a passion for His Kingdom. With fresh insights and transformative strategies, she welcomes us to embark on a journey of faith, nurturing the next generation of believers and disciples.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ serves as a wise and powerful companion as we navigate parenthood or as grandparents. The crises and shadows of life in this world will threaten to shake its youngest souls. Our children need the hope only Christ can offer. With a strong foundation, this generation can transform the future.

As we embrace our role as stewards of His precious gifts of our children, may we rise to the challenge with unwavering faith and steadfast resolve. We can depend on experts like Lee Ann Mancini to come alongside us in raising kids to follow Christ. Together, we can fulfill our true purpose and enjoy our greatest reward of raising a generation to love and follow Christ Jesus as their personal Savior.

An Overview of the Treasures Found in Raising Kids to Follow Christ.

In Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God, Lee Ann Mancini inspires parents, grandparents, teachers, and others to teach their children essential Christian principles to enable them to navigate the world with grace, integrity, and an unbreakable bond with their heavenly Father.

This book goes beyond surface-level advice, delving into the intricate matters of children’s hearts and minds and offering a blueprint for nurturing a deep and unwavering faith in Christ.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ offers:
• Decades of personal experience and training based on key essential principles in Scripture
• Practical strategies for addressing doubts, fears, and questions that arise in today’s culture
• Ways to help children control their emotions and actions in various situations
• Suggestions from some of today’s brightest Christian minds in children’s spirituality
• Empowerment for parents to become their child’s spiritual champion
• Easy-to-understand apologetics for children and adults
• Fun ways to connect your child’s heart to Christ

Raising Kids to Follow Christ is a collaborative journey inviting parents to learn, grow, and flourish alongside their children as they become bold in their witness and committed to their faith rather than the secular culture.

About Lee Ann Mancini

Lee Ann Mancini is the award-winning author and executive producer of the Sea Kids series, which can be viewed on Answers.TV, Pure Flix, Right Now Media, and Minno. Lee Ann earned Master’s degrees in Theological Studies, Christian and Classic Studies, and Biblical and Theological Studies. She serves as an adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary and hosts the award-winning podcast, Raising Christian Kids.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God would make a great Easter or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or any day gift for the parents in your life. The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Let’s be sure they’re spiritually prepared to win the battle for their souls and for our world.

Please leave a comment here. I always reply.

March 4, 2024
Return to top of page

Respect Your Weapons of Fasting and Prayer!

9

I hope you didn’t look at the title and discount this blog because you saw fasting. Hang in with me. I’ll explain why I chose this topic after battling with it myself for over a month.

Each week, I wait on the Lord to reveal a topic to write on and He never lets me down. Sometimes it’s at the last minute. Other times, I look for more confirmation, especially if it’s a hard one to tackle and maybe not one I’m eager to apply myself!

Dave and I watch Flashpoint on Victory News Channel. Pastor Gene Bailey, who hosts the program, has been encouraging the “Flashpoint Army” of viewers to join a Corporate Fast for our nation from February 5th through the 25th. I felt a tugging in my heart every time I heard him talk about it. I struggled with the Lord. With my health could I actually fast?

Then last Wednesday morning, January 31st, I opened my email and saw CBN was covering live the 2024 National Prayer Breakfast in DC, so I decided to watch. The keynote speaker was Senate Chaplain Barry Black. He started by saying he wasn’t a speaker, he was a pastor, and so his message that morning would be from the Bible. His topic was fasting!

Now, I knew God was trying to get my attention! He wanted me to share about fasting with all of you, who like me, have been praying for a spiritual revival and reformation in our churches, nation, and government. Or maybe you need a spiritual breakthrough in your life. I’ve shared in previous blogs about my ongoing battle with our local library to remove inappropriate obscene books harmful to children. I’d prayed continuously (1 Thess. 5:17), but I hadn’t fasted.

I told my husband the Lord wanted me to not only write about fasting, but also join the 3-week Flashpoint Corporate Fast. His initial response, “You might lose more weight!” Now to some that might seem like a good thing. In my case, I need to maintain my weight so Dave had a legitimate concern.

Some of you might have health issues that don’t allow fasting food for extended periods, but you could fast a meal, do a liquid fast, or fast a favorite food or activity. Chaplain Black said many at the Capitol join him in the Wesley Fast and Prayer on Wednesdays when they fast until 3 pm. John Wesley originally advocated fasting on both Wednesday and Friday as a weekly spiritual discipline and wouldn’t ordain anyone into the Methodist ministry unwilling to fast both days.  But later, he only fasted once a week starting at sundown Thursday and ending at 3 pm on Friday. That seems doable.

There’s nothing magical about those days. If another day of the week works best for you then pick that if you want to only do a one-day weekly fast. Be flexible. Listen to the Holy Spirit so you don’t focus more on the fast than the reason for it—to draw closer to God and hear the Holy Spirit more clearly.

Fasting doesn’t always have to be food. Maybe it’s something that has a grip on you like screen time, television, news media, social media, junk food, or even caffeine and fasting it would be a significant sacrifice.

Why Fast?

Intermittent fasting is a popular diet regime, but spiritual fasting isn’t about weight loss, it’s about spiritual gain. Food has power. Food motivates. Food addicts. Food controls. We’re often willing to spend more time and money on our food purchases and preparation then we spend on our time with the Lord. Esau traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a bowl of stew!

Fasting helps us crave spiritual food from God more than physical food from the refrigerator or pantry. Fasting intensifies the powers of our prayers. Fasting is more dependent on faith than any other spiritual discipline. When we fast, we believe that God’s going to show up. We hunger and thirst for righteousness and knowledge more than food and drink.  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matt. 5:6

Many describe fasting as a lifting of the fog of fear, doubt, uncertainty, and worry revealing clarity of vision on what God wants us to learn from His Word and the Holy Spirit.

Fasting is often portrayed as hard and painful. It is a form of self-denial, but the purpose of spiritual fasting is to focus on God instead of what you’re fasting. Every time you go for the remote or to check social media or grab that snack or cup of coffee, instead you stop and pray for God to have more sovereignty over your time, mind, and body than food or the outside world.

Your desire becomes more for God than the object of your fast. Many testify that fasting and prayer, not one or the other, is the most powerful effective spiritual road to revival. We know we need revival in our country and in our government, but maybe it’s revival in your home or in your life.

Examples of Fasting and Prayer in the Old Testament When Seeking God’s Intervention for Their Nation

Moses: This happened when I was on the mountain receiving the tablets of stone inscribed with the words of the covenant that the Lord had made with you. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all that time I ate no food and drank no water. 10 The Lord gave me the two tablets on which God had written with his own finger all the words he had spoken to you from the heart of the fire when you were assembled at the mountain. Deut. 9:9-10 NLT

Nehemiah: When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven. (Neh. 1:4 NLT) On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads. 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors. 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. Neh. 9:1-3

Esther:  “Go and gather together all the Jews of Susa and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. My maids and I will do the same. And then, though it is against the law, I will go in to see the king. If I must die, I must die.” Esther 4:16 NLT

Daniel: So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “O Lord, you are a great and awesome God! You always fulfill your covenant and keep your promises of unfailing love to those who love you and obey your commands. Dan. 9:3-4 NLT

In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship. When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. 3 All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed. Dan. 10:1-3 NLT

Jonah:  The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow. Jonah 3:5 NLT

Examples of Fasting and Prayer in the New Testament.

Many have falsely claimed that fasting was only a spiritual discipline for the Old Testament, but the Bible contradicts such a fallacy. I don’t know why we don’t hear more sermons on fasting.

Jesus: For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. Matt 4:2 NLT

Anna There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child [Jesus] to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. Luke 2:36-38

Paul: He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink. Acts 9:9 NLT

Church Elders: One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” 3 So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way. Acts 13:2-3 NLT

Paul and Barnabas: Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. Acts 14:23

 The disciples fasted after Jesus ascended into heaven, as should we as His disciples: One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, “Why don’t your disciples fast like we do and the Pharisees do?” 15 Jesus replied, “Do wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. Matt. 9:13-15 NLT

Examples of the Thompsons Fasting

  1. Our first year of marriage blending a family was horrific. Without keeping Jesus at the center of our marriage, we would’ve never made it. On Mondays, we did a liquid fast and prayed for our family and protection from the enemy. We were both working and would call each other during the day for encouragement. Those Monday liquid fasts drew us closer to the Lord and to each other and helped us not just endure, but experience victory!
  2. When my daughter Kim and her then fiancé Toby accepted Christ in a premarital course we gave them as an engagement gift, we prayed and fasted for them to want to be baptized. Dave fasted tortilla chips, a daily bread of life for him to this day. I was addicted to Diet Coke, so that’s what I fasted. Soon Kim and Toby both started asking about baptism and Dave and I helped baptize them two weeks before their wedding. Dave went back to eating tortilla chips; I never drank another Diet Coke. The Lord removed the desire.
  3. Two of our daughters and their husbands experienced infertility. Dave and I both fasted all sweets and desserts as we prayed for the Lord to let them become parents. We didn’t tell anyone what we were doing, as we never did, according to Matt. 6:16, 18 NLT And when you fast, don’t make it obvious, as the hypocrites do, for they try to look miserable and disheveled so people will admire them for their fasting. I tell you the truth, that is the only reward they will ever get . . . Then no one will notice that you are fasting, except your Father, who knows what you do in private. And your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. But after not even eating birthday cake on our own birthdays, the family started noticing. After many months, Shannon became pregnant and had a baby boy, but Kim still wasn’t a mommy, so we kept on fasting and praying. Seven months later, Kim and Toby adopted our grandson Brandon, and the night they picked him up she called and told us to go out and have a hot fudge sundae!

“When praises go up blessings come down.” 2 Chron. 20:5-6

The Thompsons 2024 Fast

Dave and I are uniting with the Flashpoint Corporate Prayer and Fast to take a stand for biblical changes in our nation, culture, and world. Following is Flashpoint’s prayer list. The last four items I added, and this is not an exhaustive list for us.

  • Prevention of anti-God government decisions
  • Closure of the wide-open Southern border
  • The large number of supporters, especially in colleges, of the horrific Oct. 7 attack on Israel
  • What our children are being exposed to in schools and libraries
  • The unabashed censorship and attacks on Christians and biblical ideals
  • End abortion entirely
  • Remove men from women’s sports
  • Stop the gender confusion and mutilation of our children and end transgenderism
  • Removal of obscene and pornographic books from our local library

Together, from Feb. 5-25, we will set our faces toward God in order to bring about breakthrough. Why three weeks? Due to stubborn national and global strongholds, an extended time of fasting is necessary. They say it takes 21 days to change your life, to change your story. It takes 21 days of repetitive confession to change an inner narrative. We’re hoping to change our country. Also, Daniel fasted for 3 weeks.

What Flashpoint and We Are Believing for, Nationally and Globally, in this Fast:

  • An awakening to God in the Body of Christ
  • An awakening to God in Israel
  • An awakening to God in America and the nations
  • Fair 2024 elections
  • Ministry breakthroughs
  • Personal breakthroughs
  • Preparing for all that is coming

Pray and seek God for what He might be asking you to lay aside during a fast. Take that time to allow the noise to be silenced so His voice can be heard more clearly. Allow God to pinpoint the things He’s asking you to surrender.

The battle is not ours; it belongs to God. But we’re in the Lord’s army and fasting and prayer are weapons He’s given us to use towards victory. Fasting isn’t a way to get a better response to prayer. True fasting is a means of fostering a humble, repentant approach to prayer.

“He can turn our crisis into conquest. Release the power of your praise before the victory is won.” Chaplain Barry Black

Other Resources

PS Sorry this was long, but I always like to post the text of the Scriptures I’m referencing.

I’m so interested to read your comments on this article. Please leave a comment here.

February 5, 2024
Return to top of page

Support National Mentoring Month

1

Januray Naitonal Mentoring Month

National Mentoring Month logo, designed by Milton Glaser

[Tweet “January is National Mentoring Month! “]

As I prepared to write this week’s blog post, I opened up my new 2016 calendar and there was my reminder that January is National Mentoring Month! I only became aware of this designation recently, even though it has been a nationally endorsed month since President George W. Bush proclaimed it in 2002. While the focus is on mentoring youth, as Christians we know we’re also to mentor those spiritually younger than us. The verses best known to motivate us to pour into someone else are Titus 2: 1-6:

Your job is to speak out on the things that make for solid doctrine. Guide older men into lives of temperance, dignity, and wisdom, into healthy faith, love, and endurance. Guide older women into lives of reverence so they end up as neither gossips nor drunks, but models of goodness. By looking at them, the younger women will know how to love their husbands and children, be virtuous and pure, keep a good house, be good wives. We don’t want anyone looking down on God’s Message because of their behavior. Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives. The Message

In my new book releasing February 9, Forsaken God?: Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, I quote the above passage from The Message as a reminder that it is our job as Christians to reach out to the next generation and help them set a moral compass that leads straight to the throne of Christ. I often wonder how many Christians actually take this command from the Lord to heart. How many realize that the fate of our nation depends on the spiritual maturity of the next generation in our families, our churches, our neighborhoods, our communities, our schools . . . ? If we’re not mentoring, who will do the job? Answer: the secular world!

[Tweet “If we’re not mentoring, who will do the job?”]

As much as we complain about the current administration, and I agree there is much to be concerned about, President Obama has continued to endorse National Mentoring month, as has both chambers of the United States Congress. The campaign’s media partners have included ABC, CBS, Fox News, and NBC; Comcast; the National Association of Broadcasters; Time Warner; and Viacom.

Shouldn’t we, the united body of Christ, also support National Mentoring Month?

[Tweet “Shouldn’t we, the united body of Christ, also support National Mentoring Month?”]

Here is an excerpt from this year’s presidential proclamation recognizing January as National Mentoring Month:

At the heart of America’s promise is the belief that we all do better when everyone has a fair shot at reaching for their dreams. Throughout our Nation’s history, Americans of every background have worked to uphold this ideal, joining together in common purpose to serve as mentors and lift up our country’s youth. During National Mentoring Month, we honor all those who continuously strive to provide young people with the resources and support they need and deserve, and we recommit to building a society in which all mentors and mentees can thrive in mutual learning relationships.

By sharing their own stories and offering guidance and advice, mentors can instill a sense of infinite possibility in the hearts and minds of their mentees, demonstrating that with hard work and passion, nothing is beyond their potential. Whether simply offering a compassionate ear or actively teaching and inspiring curiosity, mentors can play pivotal roles in young peoples’ lives. When given a chance to use their talents and abilities to engage in their communities and contribute to our world, our Nation’s youth rise to the challenge. They make significant impacts in their communities and shape a brighter future for coming generations.

I smiled when I read this proclamation, both for the championing of mentoring and that the President of the United States used the word “mentee.” When I started the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry and wrote Woman to Woman Mentoring: How to Start, Grow, and Maintain a Mentoring Ministry, many people told me mentee was not a word. I think Woman to Woman Mentoring put mentee in the dictionary!

Thank Your Mentor Day

Thank you mentor women

[Tweet “As part of National Mentoring Month, a day is set aside to celebrate Thank Your Mentor Day”]

As part of National Mentoring Month, a day is set aside to celebrate Thank Your Mentor Day. This year, it’s January 21, 2016. A day to thank and honor mentors who have encouraged and guided you, and had a lasting, positive impact on your life.

In Forsaken God?, I encourage readers to remember spiritual mentors and the way God used these men and women to shape their lives and then to imitate those mentors by mentoring whoever God puts in their path:

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7

Here are some ways the National Mentoring Month Campaign suggests for honoring your mentors:

  1. Contact your mentor directly to express your appreciation;
  2. Express your gratitude on social media.
  3. Pass on what you received by becoming a mentor to a young person in your community;
  4. Make a financial contribution to a local mentoring program in your mentor’s honor; and,
  5. Write a tribute to your mentor for posting on the Who Mentored You? website.

To add a spiritual component to National Mentoring Month, consider:

  1. Start a Mentoring Ministry in your church.
  2. Become a spiritual mentor to someone spiritually younger, not necessarily chronologically younger.
  3. If your church has a mentoring ministry, serve in the ministry.
  4. My next book is Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life’s Experiences and God’s Faithfulness. Honor your mentor or mentee by sending me a story about your mentoring relationship to include in the book. [email protected].
  5. Pray for God to send you a mentor.
  6. Every month in About His Work Ministries’ Newsletter, we feature a Church Mentoring Ministry. Send me something you would like to share about your mentoring ministry to help other churches. [email protected]
  7. Start 2016 being a spiritual mentor, or finding a mentor.
  8. Remember that mentoring is part of parenting.

I’m looking forward to what God will have me share with you and perhaps mentor you in 2016. My “job” in About His Work Ministries isn’t to have a following, but to point others to Jesus.

Happy, Healthy, Blessed New Year

Another post you might enjoy reading is How to Mentor in a World Forsaking God.

Mentoring month men

January 4, 2016
Return to top of page

Keys to Overcome the Troubles of this World

4

You may remember that today’s guest wrote a post in January, Love Your Body with a Healthy Heart. If you haven’t read that yet, you’ll want to do that right away. It’s so important to take care of our physical heart. Today Pamela Christian talks about how to have a spiritually healthy heart. Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Examine Your Faith.

 FTLB Series Banner

Everywhere I go I find people who are barely holding on. The heavy burdens of their personal life circumstances weigh them down. Many of these precious people claim to be believers in Jesus Christ—the one whose very life, death and resurrection was given so that those who believe could have life and life more abundantly, (John 10:10). Jesus was very clear that in this life we will have troubles, but we are to take heart because He has overcome the world, (John 16:33). Why don’t we see more Christians exemplifying the victorious life Christ died to provide us?

God’s Love is Unconditional but His Promises Aren’t

[Tweet “God’s Love is Unconditional but His Promises Aren’t”]

Several years ago, through no error of our own, when my husband and I suffered the loss of all our material assets except our furniture, clothing, and one car, I learned a valuable lesson about God’s love and promises.

[Tweet “God’s love is unconditional and eternal. “]

God’s love is unconditional and eternal. We can’t do anything to earn it or stop it. God’s love is ever-present. However, God’s promises are a different matter. There are conditions of faith that we must meet before we can lay any claim to God’s promises.

Think about it: The Bible is very clear that God longs for everyone to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. But only those who place their faith in Jesus—the Son of God and promised Redeemer—will be saved. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life,” (John3:16). The promise is eternal life. The condition to receive the promise is to believe in Jesus.

 [Tweet “The Bible is very clear that God longs for everyone to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.”]

Faith to Live By

From what turned out to be four long years of under and unemployment, and nearly being homeless on two separate occasions, I learned a great deal about faith. It’s not enough to believe that God exists. According to the Apostle James even the demons in hell believe in God, (James 2:19). Believing that God exists and placing our faith in Him are two entirely different matters.

Faith is something I’ve spent a great amount of time studying. In part because of what God reveals in Hebrews 11:6. Many people know the first part of the verse by heart:

“And without faith is it impossible to please him [God]…” (ESV)

But consider the rest of that passage:

“…for whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that He exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].” (AMP)

This passage challenges us to have faith that God exists, but also to have faith in His character, will, and intentions. His revealed promises are available if we have a deep desire to know Him personally for who He is, not for what He can do. Matthew 6:25-34 is very clear that we are to seek God first and foremost, then all the things we have need of will be given unto us.

To Know God

You may recall a popular sit-com where instead of saying “blah, blah, blah” to indicate unimportant continuation of thought or conversation, the characters said “yada, yada, yada.” I found it particularly interesting that yada is a Hebrew word that means to know (Strong’s 3045). And in some applications, it means to have a deep, abiding and personally experiential knowledge, referring to intimate knowledge. This same word used in Genesis states that Adam knew his wife and she conceived (Genesis 4:1). This gives us some tremendous insight about the intimate personal spiritual relationship we can have with God the Father, through faith in the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[Tweet “You can bet that in that very dark and exceedingly difficult time in my family’s life, I did all I could to know God. “]

 

You can bet that in that very dark and exceedingly difficult time in my family’s life, I did all I could to know God. He was the only one who could help us out of our dire circumstances. Convinced of this, I diligently sought God. I wanted to fully take hold of Him. Strangely, the specific things we needed to remedy our situation grew dim. Most important was for me to know God.

Essential Faith

Why don’t we see more Christians exemplifying the victorious life Christ died to provide us? I contend it’s because many haven’t yet become fully convinced of His truth. As I write in Examine Your Faith! Finding Truth in a World of Lies, the first book of my Faith to Live By book series: “Well-meaning people want to believe that all roads lead to the same God and heaven. But wanting something to be true is far different from truth lining up with reality. Unless you make an intentional effort to examine what you believe and why you believe, it’s quite possible you are living your life on the basis of a lie, and don’t know it.” This book is foundational in the quest to discover and enter into the victorious life. It explores essential faith.

Effective Faith

Another reason Christians don’t live God’s gift of the abundant life is because we haven’t embraced who we are in Christ—our identity with Christ’s imputed authority and power. My second book in the series, Renew Your Hope Remedy for Personal Breakthroughs, explores how “More than ever before, most people are finding it difficult to remain optimistic about their life and their future. So much has failed—marriage, family, and personal relations, the job and economic markets, government, education and even the Church. In whom or what can we find the hope and personal breakthrough we desperately need? Clearly, there is no hope in our natural existence. There never has been. That is why Christ came to this earth in the first place!”

Excellent Faith

Faith tested through trials of adversity is strengthened faith. Such faith is born through perseverance—not magically or instantaneously appearing, but developed. As Hellen Steiner Rice wrote, “Great faith that smiles is born of great trials.” Excellent faith is the topic for my third book planned in the series, Revive Your Life! Rest for Your Anxious Heart. You may have noticed that the three books in the Faith to Live By series address, faith, hope and love—the governing attributes necessary for God’s Kingdom to occur on earth as it is in heaven.

Keys to Overcome the Troubles of this World

In our very long trial of loss, that I share in more detail in my books and when I speak, I discovered that the keys for us to overcome even the most devastating troubles of this world are found in God’s Word—the Bible.

 

  • First, it requires essential faith—a faith in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. It’s not enough to know about Him as Savior. He must also be your Lord.
  • Second, it requires effective faith—a faith in God’s declarations of who you are by faith in Christ.
  • Third, it requires excellent faith—a faith confident in God’s love, plan and will, that God is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do.

 

With a compassionate heart, I want everyone to discover and live the same life-giving truth I’ve been blessed to find. I hope you will let my journey of discovering truth and learning to overcome even the most devastating tragedies, based on the promises of God, help you do the same. Please consider getting my books, signing up for my complimentary bi-monthly ENewsletter where there are giveaways, and following me on Twitter, Facebook and visiting and commentating on my Blog.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Examine Your Faith.

Pamela Christian

Author’s Bio

For over twenty years, coast to coast, Pamela Christian has been helping people in matters of faith. Ministry for Pam began as Teaching Director for Community Bible study, followed by speaking at retreats and conferences, coast to coast. Expanding her ministry included hosting live Christian talk-radio in two major markets and work in commercial television. Pam has a certificate in apologetics from Biola University and membership with the International Society of Women in Apologetics and Christian Women in Media. Her fervent interests are faith, family, friends, and food, so you’ll often find her dotingly planning gatherings and cooking to bring all her passions together. She and her husband live in Orange County, CA, with their two grown children and families living nearby.

April 20, 2015
Return to top of page

The Team That Jesus Built Press Release

0

Former Saddleback Leader Offers Practical Steps to Building a Successful Women’s Ministry

(BIRMINGHAM, Ala.)—April 19, 2011—Former Saddleback Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry leader Janet Thompson, in her new release The Team That Jesus Built: How to Develop, Equip, and Commission a Women’s Ministry Team (ISBN 978-1-59669-300-5, $16.99), offers practical tips to women’s ministry leaders. Drawing on years of experience and lay-ministerial success, Thompson passionately encourages women’s ministry teams to continuously and systematically groom others.

“Most churches have a list of ministries that started with a bang and then fizzled—not for lack of people needing the benefits of the ministry, but often because the leader left without having an equipped team in place,” writes Thompson.

When God called her to start the mentoring ministry at Saddleback Church, she looked for resources to assist her, but found none. Instead, through years of experience she has now written her own. Using sound biblical principles, also incorporated by large international Bible studies, Thompson uses the training relationship of Jesus with the disciples as the basic outline for the book.

Chris Adams, senior lead women’s ministry specialist, LifeWay Christian Resources, recognizes the tools this book contains for effective team-building and offers positive words about the authors’ credibility.

“Janet Thompson has a heart for the Lord and a heart for raising up women who have a heart for Him,” endorses Adams. “She has given us many tools to mentor women and to grow together as women. As a leader herself, she has developed effective and multiplying teams.”

What distinguishes this book from so many others is that she takes the principles of Jesus and puts them in practical terms for women’s ministry. The book addresses getting started and organized, recruitment, informal interviews, key communication elements, conflict resolution, and a host of other topics that arise in ministry regardless of church size or denomination.

“In The Team That Jesus Built, Janet Thompson offers practical, step-by-step advice for building, remodeling, or rejuvenating a ministry team,” endorses Kathy Howard, minister of adult education at Fannin Terrace Baptist Church and author of Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith.

About the Author
Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian woman. She developed the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church, where she and her husband, Dave, were members. Janet served as a lay minister for 12 years, leading Saddleback’s Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry. Passionate about mentoring others, she is also the author of the “Face-to-Face” Bible study series. A new resident to Idaho, she continues to share the blessings of mentoring by training churches around the world.

About New Hope Publishers
Representing more than 50 authors and more than 100 individual works, the mission of New Hope Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.newhopepublishers.com.

April 21, 2011
Return to top of page
Return to top of page · Copyright © 2024 Crown Laid Down Designs All Rights Reserved · Our Privacy Policy