Dear Partner,

Heb 11:6   But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Faith is so important in the life of every believer. Jesus was always looking for faith in the hearts of the people because it is FAITH that pleases God! What is it about God's nature that causes us to have faith in His word? It is because of one simple fact. Take a look at these verses:

Heb 6:17-19   Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD TO LIE, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil. [Emphasis Mine]

Titus 1:1-2   Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which GOD, THAT CANNOT LIE, promised before the world began. [Emphasis Mine]

Why can we have faith in God's Word? Because GOD CANNOT LIE! Satan, the enemy of our souls, has challenged this truth from the very beginning. When he approached Eve in the Garden his first question to her was, "Hath God said?" God had spoken that if they ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die. When Eve spoke the truth of God's Word, the enemy immediately called God a liar by saying, "Ye shall not surely die."

Here we see the battle of the ages. God speaks TRUTH to man. The enemy calls God a liar in the hope of causing man to doubt God's Word. Why does mankind have such difficulty maintaining faith in God's word? Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that each of us knows we have the capacity to lie. We all endeavor not to lie, but we are constantly aware that we have the capacity to lie if we choose to do so. That being the case, we have a hard time relating to our heavenly Father who has no capacity to lie … at all! We tend to think that He is like us. No, in this regard, He is not. Our Father is not choosing whether He will lie to us or not. Our Father CANNOT lie! There is a world of difference. What did Jesus say about the Father's word? He said,

John 17:17   Sanctify them through thy truth: THY WORD IS TRUTH. [Emphasis Mine]

Since it is impossible to please God without faith, all of us want to walk in more and more faith throughout our lives. One time while I was in prayer the Father said to me, "I have given you the written record of what I believe in the bible. When you come to the place where you believe what I already believe … that's called faith!" It is so simple. God speaks. His word is truth. We believe what He says. That's called faith, and faith is what pleases Him.

When Jesus Himself was being tempted by Satan in the wilderness, He chose one, single weapon to overcome all of the temptations that were launched against Him. Every single time the enemy would tempt Jesus, He responded with the TRUTH of God's Word. "It is written, It is written, It is written …" overcame the enemy every time! In particular notice how Jesus worded this response to the enemy's onslaught:

Mat 4:4   But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

What is faith? It is when man chooses to live his life by the TRUTH of God’s Word … Period! No matter what the enemy says, no matter what the circumstances around us may say, we are to live by faith in God’s Word because GOD CANNOT LIE! For example, here is a short passage from God’s word that every child of God is to believe:

Psa 103:1-5   A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The blood of Jesus is available to provide forgiveness for all our iniquities, past, present, and future. Yet I spend much of my time counseling believers who live in constant condemnation because they simply do not "feel" forgiven, even after they have repented of their sins and confessed them before the Father. The Word of God says they are forgiven, yet they tend to trust their "feelings" rather than upon "It is written." Trusting in our "feelings" is not faith. Trusting in God's Word, regardless of our feelings, is faith!

What about the other "benefits" mentioned in this short passage? Will God heal all of our diseases? What does His Word say? Can God lie? It is the same in every area of life. If we are going to please God, we will be a people who live by faith. There is no such thing as faith in God without faith in God's word, for GOD CANNOT LIE! Every time the enemy challenges our faith either through circumstances or doubt, let us follow the example given to us by the Master by responding with the truth of God's word pouring out of our mouth, "It is written, it is written, it is written …"

Sue and I love you and appreciate you. We thank God for your generous and giving heart. God bless you!

Your friend and co-laborer,

Gary Carpenter

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