Faith can achieve Anything

I have had one of my articles criticised recently because I inferred that the severe drought we are experiencing, is possibly being prolonged by God as a form of discipline because we, as a Nation, have been defying God's law. Well, in Leviticus Chapter 26, God forewarned that He would withhold rain from His people if they were disobedient, and again in 2 Chronicles, Chapter 7 He not only says that, but also says that He will even remove them from their land if they worship other gods. (and He did just that, with the Israelites). "God is the same yesterday, today and forever." Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-22, that He "came not to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfil". God is reliable, Romans Chapter 4 talks about how God promised Abraham that he would be a father to many nations and Abraham believed God, so it happened, even though he was 100 years old and Sarah, his barren wife, was 90. His faith counted to him as righteousness, because he saw God as he is described in verse 17, as the God who raises the dead and sees things that are not, as though they were. 
Consequently, when we pray we need to align our faith with the God we are praying to, and therefore realise that he has the power to even raise the dead, so we need to see, in our mind's eye, the thing we have been praying about as having happened. Because that his the way God Created everything in the beginning, and that is the way He thinks, (e.g.: don't visualise the sickness in that child you are praying; instead (if you are a Believer), lay your hands on him, or her, "In Jesus' name" and say, (as Jesus told you to) "In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, be healed." Visualise the child as perfect and don't be shy, after all, you are not using your own authority. You are using HIS AUTHORITY. Remember, He took this for granted when He said "These signs shall follow those who believe, In My Name they shall lay hands on the sock and they shall recover." (no ifs or buts there). Referring to any people in the church who are sick, James 5:14 & 15 says that "the Elders should anoint that person with oil, in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith shall save the sick. (no ifs or buts there either) Jesus wants to be involved in our medical needs as well as our lives generally. It seems very tragic to me that God loves us so much and wants us to involve Him in our lives and yet we as a Nation, ignore Him and worship all sorts of other gods. If you think I am being too critical of us, then count the number of people who are worshiping God on Sunday, (for example), the day that God set aside for rest and fellowship with Him, and compare that with the number of people who are attending sport on that day. The "gods" we worship are not necessarily "golden images" (they could even be footballers), but I fear that in His sight these gods are just as bad because they actually replace Him in our lives. He describes Himself as a "jealous God" and will not play "second fiddle" to any other god, and why should He? The universe is His, and so are we.
are praying for.

There is a lovely promise passed on from God, by the prophet Hananiah when he reprimanded King Asa for not trusting God, in 2 Chronicles 16:9, where he says "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect towards Him". I love that, because it is such an example of God's love. Just think of it. The God of the universe is checking us out to help anyone who is His friend, and that is exactly the opposite to Satan's attitude shown in 1 Peter, 5:8 where it says "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion walks about, seeking whom he may devour." In these last 7 lines then, are summed up success or failure for us. We must either live the way God wants and be accepted by Him, or ignore Him and be trapped by the Devil. To sum it up: either accept eternal life from God, or eternal death from Satan (there is no third option). Some people think they can overcome the alternatives by committing suicide, for example, but that doesn't work either: sure you can kill your body but you cannot kill your soul, and you are the Soul in that body of yours. Consequently, the action simply means: "Out of the frying pan, into the fire", or "onto the hotplate" as the case may be.

Because the only way of escape is by accepting the saving grace of Jesus, who died to take away the consequences of our sin. This forgiveness is free and releases us to enjoy our life here, and now, and then go straight on into Eternity in Heaven.
Considering that is a free offer, we would be mugs not to examine it more closely if we have not already done so, wouldn't we? Well I did so (although rather reluctantly) 70 years ago, and I now cannot believe how anyone could live without Jesus' support. It is wonderful, crucial and eternal.  Regards, Tom.