These were the words of Jesus. A little girl had died and people had lost hope, but Our Lord said to them: “Don’t be afraid; just believe” and He raised the little girl back to life. Mark 5:36   When we believe, we have the seed of eternal life within us and that ‘seed of eternal life’ is God Himself.

Faith is like the root of a tree. The tree can grow, become strong and bear fruit only if the root of the tree is strong and well nourished, but if the root withers so too does the hope that the tree will live up to its promise.

“Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” Matthew 7:17

I believe that faith is like a garden that must be cultivated. Consider a beautiful seed, planted in dry arid soil. That dry arid soil will be unable to nourish the seed. That seed, however precious and beautiful and full of potential, will die if the soil is unprepared to receive it and nourish it.

The Scriptures say that “faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

When we reflect on the Word of God our faith, that precious seed from God, is nourished and strengthened through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we take time to reflect on God’s Word, our faith begins to sprout roots and those roots get stronger and stronger as we open our hearts to God and allow Him to cultivate our faith.

This is the promise of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

What is faith to you?

To me faith is all about one thing RELATIONSHIP.

Faith is a RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD, A LOVE RELATIONSHIP.

Faith is a PERSONAL, INTIMATE, SACRED RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Saviour, my ALL.

Faith begins with a SACRED ENCOUNTER with God, an encounter that sparks a spiritual desire for a RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DIVINE that illumines and sustains us, one day-at-a-time, one precious moment at-a-time.

I believe that Jesus Christ will only live in hearts that are willing to receive Him and keep Him. Reflect again on the precious seed of God called FAITH. If we open our hearts to receive Jesus the process of communion with God can begin. But we must do more than just receive Jesus, we must be willing to strive to keep Him in our hearts as we ACKNOWLEDGE AND HONOUR Him each day of our life.

None of us can achieve our human potential without FAITH. Jesus calls Himself the VINE and we the BRANCHES.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

I tell you the truth one morning as I was rising out of bed God said to my heart: “Woman you cannot do anything without Me.”

Jesus shattered a false view I had. I thought I was an ‘independent woman’. I would pray in times of need, but most days I would not pray. I only really talked to God when I was in trouble. I had never read the Word of God and I wasn’t going to Church. I am sad to say, Jesus spent so many, too many, years waiting for me. But now, He no longer has to wait for I am HIS!

I am in a ‘consecrated relationship with Jesus.’ I am not a priest or a nun, but I know that God wills for me to be consecrated to Him.

God says, “I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.” 2 Chronicles 7:16

We are all called to be temples of God where Jesus Himself can live and work through the power of His Holy Spirit. But in order for God to dwell in His temple, the temple must be prepared for Him.

When the Virgin Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she was chosen to be the Mother of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, she consented. “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.” Luke 1:38

We too must consent to allowing God to enter into a PERSONAL, INTIMATE, SACRED RELATIONSHIP with us.  This love relationship must be defined by our willingness to REPENT OF OUR SINS and BE OBEDIENT TO GOD.

Before God can enter the temple, the temple must be cleansed. If God were coming to eat at your house tonight, would you not clean up your house?

SIN separates us from God and it is the filth of our sins that needs to be washed out of our souls. Only God can do this purification.

“If we confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

For most of us this purification is not something that occurs in an instance, once and for all. Striving to LIVE CLEAN requires ongoing effort and perseverance as we day by day, moment by moment, try to discern God’s Will in all that we choose to do.

I am just an ordinary person but I have had more than one extraordinary, supernatural experience with God and I truly believe that these blessings are meant to be shared and that’s why I am online trying to share these precious blessings.

Over fourteen years ago I briefly contemplated suicide or divorce. As you can possibly imagine neither scenario was pleasing to God. I heard God’s voice say to my heart ‘what is love?’ At the time, not being evangelized I answered ‘love is a feeling’. And to this God said, ‘wrong’ in a quiet, gentle voice. So I said, ‘what is it then?’ And God answered ‘Love is a choice’.

Illumined by the Holy Spirit I realized I needed to reconsider my choices. Neither suicide or divorce were choices I would pursue. The cloak of depression was taken from me slowly and surely and I went back to Church. I had not been to Church since I was a little girl. I confessed my sins and I bought a Bible and I began studying God’s Word.

I realized God was inviting me into a precious relationship with Him, a profoundly intimate relationship that would change my life. Trust was something I had never really gave anyone totally. My motto was ‘trust yourself and no one will disappoint you.’ But God kept saying to my heart ‘Trust Me’. And slowly I began to open my heart more and more to God as He began to transform my views on just about everything.

I have become a very different person over the course of the last decade. I once was anxious and worried about many things, but now I am peaceful and confident because I live perpetually in the love of Jesus Christ. He is with me in every single moment of the day. I am blessed to be so aware of His holy presence in my life and He continues to draw me to know and do what is good and just.

One of the first things Jesus did following my spiritual conversion was He cleaned up my house. It was full of fashion magazines and all of them preached ‘beauty skin deep’. I remember having a special moment with God one day as my teenage daughter looked at my clothes and frowned. ‘Mom’ she said, ‘You have lost your sense of style! Look at your socks! They don’t even match.”

I smiled at Jesus, realizing I had forgotten myself as I was striving to think of Him and my daughter was right, my wardrobe was now simple and not so stylish and I had inadvertently chosen two different socks from my drawer.  I was beginning to focus on inner beauty and I imagined God was smiling at me.

I do not take my faith for granted. It is a precious gift from God that I strive to honour as I consider all the choices I make on a daily basis. I think about not just what I am choosing to do, but I also consider what I am not doing that could make Jesus smile. I understand that love is proven in each and every choice.  “Love is a choice.”

“But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.” James 2:18

I have embraced a lot of silence in my life and in solitude with God I have learned the meaning of these words, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

To ‘exalt’ God means to acknowledge His Greatness, His Sovereignty over all people and all things and to truly exalt Him is to give Him the Highest Honour and the Highest Place in our lives.

I encourage you to open your heart to Jesus and trust Him to build you up into the person He knows you can be. “Don’t be afraid; just believe!” Mark 5:36

Believe that the love Jesus has for you is INFINITE! Stop every day at the time Jesus died for us, 3pm (in your local time zone) and remember the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ. At this time join Christians all over the world that are praying for the Holy Spirit to change the world, one soul at a time.   Look deeply into the Crucified Face of Jesus and allow Him to plant the seed of Holy Desire in your heart that will keep you faithful to Him.  “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12

“Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story– those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.” Psalm 107:2

May Our Holy Lord Jesus bless you today and always to know how very much He loves you and how very much He wants to live with you and in you! Trust Jesus!