May 2016-Victory in Faith

The Cost: My Life
on a terrorist Hit
List
Interview with Ali Husnain
May 2016
ARE YOU WALKING IN
Faith
OR YOUR
Own Strength?
Please let my
Faith Supercharged!
Tapping into
Supernatural
Faith
prayers be
Answered!
What to do while
waiting
HELPING FAMILIES LIVE VICTORIOUSLY IN CHRIST

Contents
YOU ARE NOT ALONE.........72
God’s Word says He will never
leave nor forsake you. God is
there through your tears right
beside you. Learn what the
Bible says in times of sorrow.
Features
ACTIVATE YOUR FAITH.......14
Activating your faith requires
action on the believer’s part.
Find out how to get the results
you are looking for.
FAITH OR FOOLISHNESS...22
Learn how to distiguish between
being in faith, or when prayers
are being said in vain.
DISCERNING BETWEEN GOD,
SATAN AND YOU..................27
Who’s voice are you hearing?
Discover how to discern between
the three.
FAITH TESTED......................30
Learn how to pass your faith test
and move on to victory.
PLEASE LET MY PRAYERS BE
ANSWERED..........................41
Uncover solutions and reasons
for unanswered prayer.
COMFORT IN THE MIDST OF
TRAGEDY..............................62
Learn how to fi nd God’s peace
in the midst of tragedy.
GIVE ME STRENGTH...........66
Strength from God begins when
we feel like we can’t go on. It’s
just a prayer away.
SPECIAL GIFT FROM GOD...69
What is the gift of faith, and how
can a believer use it? Learn
how to recognize the gift of faith
in action.
SUPERNATURAL FAITH......77
Some situations require
supernatural faith in order to see
things move. Discover how God
builds up our faith so that we can
overcome any obsticle.
FOUNDATION OF FAITH......81
It is important for every believer
to have a fi rm foundation of faith.
Discover why it is so crutial.
WHAT IS FAITH.....................07
This article both defines faith,
and gives insight into the importance
of walking in it.
GOD’S DELAYS ARE NOT
ALWAYS DENIALS................48
God’s promises are always yes
and amen.
FAITH TO MOVE
MOUNTAINS.........................84
Learn how to take down every
mountain in life with faith.

AUTHORITY O V E R
DEMONS..........................88
Knowledge alone won’t get rid of
them, However, faith sure will!
Interviews
THEN AND NOW...................10
Interview with Marianne Evans
THE COST: MY LIFE ON A
TERRORIST HIT LIST............18
Interview with Ali Husnain
MUSIC SPOTLIGHT..............36
Interview with Band of Christ
THE AETHERLIGHT:.............44
Interview with Tim Cleary
SYNCED................................54
Interview with Jennifer Kennedy
Dean
CRITICAL CONVERSATIONS:
A CHRISTIAN PARENTS’
GUIDE TO DISCUSSING
HOMOSEXUALITY WITH
TEENS.................................110
Interview with Tom Gilson
BY WAR & BY GOD............117
Interview with Kent Williamson
GOT PRAYER?......................94
Discussion of what can prevent
God from hearing our earnest
prayers.
THE CHEQUE’S IN THE MAIL.98
The infamous cheque may only
arrive once. The rest is up to
you!
IS YOUR FAITH BEATING OR
FLATLINED.........................102
Uncover that passion for God
again with this article!
FAITH OR OWN
STRENGTH........................106
If what you are going seems like
work, you may be doing it on
your own.
MAINTAINING A SPIRIT OF
PEACE.................................114
The calm in the midst of any
storm is possible. Regain yours!

EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER
Michelle Danko
mcdanko@eyeworship.org
ASSISTANT PUBLISHER
Vernita Simmons (Interviews)
vsimmons@eyeworship.org
Kathy Smith (Features)
kathy.smith@eyeworship.org
Natasha Gboleeweefaa (Reviews)
ngboleeweefaa@eyeworship.org
Roslyn Ashford (Business & Leadership)
rashford@eyeworship.org
EDITOR
Jill King
jillking@eyeworship.org
Matt Poe
mattpoe@eyeworship.org
SALES
Mark M. Danko
mmdanko@faithfilledfamily.com
IMAGES:
COVER PHOTO
Kostia@AdobeStock.com
PHOTOGRAPHERS
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SUBSCRIPTIONS AND FEEDBACK:
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© Faith Filled Family Magazine, November Edition, Yumpu 2016
All material is strictly copyright and all rights reserved. Reproduction
in whole or in part without the written permission of Faith Filled
Family is expressly forbidden.

Publisher’s Letter
This issue centers around the topic of faith, and why it is
such an important foundation for every believer.
Faith arrives the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and
Savior, because it is by faith that we are saved. However,
if we do not activate our faith, and if we do not grow it,
then we will be tossed to and fro when the enemy comes
against us. The end result will be that we will not walk in
the victory, nor the destiny that God had planned for us
because all of these things require faith as a foundation.
This edition of Faith Filled Family will teach you how to
activate your faith, how to take your authority, how to
overcome Satan, how to gain strength and peace over
your life, and, what faith and walking in it is all about.
I hope your faith grows as a result of reading this issue
and that you continue to walk in victory always.
Be Blessed,
Michelle Danko
Publisher
Faith Filled Family Magazine

WHAT IS....
Learning About Faith From Peter
By Katie Hamilton
One of my favorite quotes is by
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He
once said, “Faith is taking the
fi rst step even when you don’t
see the whole staircase.” I love
this quote because it provides a
clear picture of what faith looks
like. It’s trusting that the next
step of a staircase is there, even
when you can’t see it.
I can easily visualize that image
in my brain, and it’s helped me
to understand the concept of
faith a little better, especially
when I’m right in the middle of
a serious trial. In a world fi lled
with bad news and bad circumstances,
it is so easy to lose faith
that things will get better. So,
how can we live a life of faith in
God, like He wants us to live?
To understand how to live a life
of faith, we have to fi rst understand
what faith is. God must
have known that we would have
trouble comprehending the idea
of faith, because He provided a
defi nition for it in the Bible. In
Hebrews 11:1, it says, “Now faith
is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not
seen” (KJV).
When I read that verse, two key
things stick out to me. I imme-

diately notice the words “things
hoped for” and “things not seen.”
In other words, the explanation
of faith is two-fold.
First, it is trusting in God with the
things we hope for. That means
trusting that God’s plans are
best, even if it doesn’t seem like
it at the time, because only He
knows the entirety of what’s in
store for us. Even if the things
we hope for do not happen when
or how we want them to happen,
we have to trust that God is in
control, and He knows what is
best.
Second, faith means trusting in
God with things we can’t see. We
can’t actually see God in the way
the disciples could when they
walked with Jesus. But, having
faith means trusting in Him
despite this. We can’t always
see a reasonable or viable solution
to all of our problems, but we
can trust that God will take care
of us anyway, simply because
He loves us that much. Not only
does faith require us to trust God
with the things we hope for, but it
also requires us to trust Him with
the things we can’t see.
Once we understand what faith
is, we can better understand
how to apply it more consistently
in our own lives. Personally, the
best way I learn something is by
seeing an example of it. That’s
why I’m so grateful that God fi lled
the Bible with stories of people
who dealt with the same issues
that we deal with today. Though
there might be slight variations
between their stories and ours
(I mean after all, I’ve never been
thrown in a real lion’s den), the
core problems they faced and
lessons they learned are still
completely relevant to our lives
as modern Christians.
So, I think the best way to look at
how to live a life of faith is to study
an example from the Bible. Let’s
take a look at one of my favorite
stories from the Bible that
shows the importance of trusting
God with things we hope for and
things we can’t see: when Peter
walked on water with Jesus.
I love Peter. I love how completely
human he is. Throughout
the Bible, he tries over and
over to show his total devotion
to Jesus. But, over and over he
screws up. He gets ahead of
himself, he doesn’t think before
he speaks, and he even denied
knowing Jesus out of fear on the
night that Jesus was crucifi ed. I
think one reason that Jesus must
have chosen Peter specifi cally
to be a disciple is because He
knew how much people would
be able to relate to him.
The story we’re going to focus on
is found in Matthew 14:23-31. It
takes place right after Jesus had
just performed one of His most
famous miracles, feeding 5,000
people with only fi ve loaves of
bread and two fi sh. The Bible
says in verse 23, “And when he
had sent the multitudes away,
he went up into a mountain apart
to pray: and when the evening
was come, he was there alone”
(KJV). He wanted some time
to pray following His incredible
miracle, so He sent His disciples
away in a ship with instructions
to meet Him on the other side of
the water.
The Bible says that the disciples’
ship was caught in the middle of
a storm at sea during the night
(verse 24). I’ve never been on
a ship caught in a storm, but I
know it had to have been terrifying.
Imagine the disciples’ fear;
they must have thought they
were going to die.
But, imagine how their fear
must have changed to complete
terror when they looked across
the raging sea to see someone
walking on the water. What they
didn’t realize at fi rst was that the
person walking towards them on
the water was Jesus. The Bible
describes it like this: “And in the
fourth watch of the night Jesus
went unto them, walking on the
sea. And when the disciples
saw him walking on the sea,
they were troubled, saying, ‘It is
a spirit’; and they cried out for
fear” (Matthew 14:25-26 KJV).
Can you blame them? They literally
thought they had seen a
ghost. In their eyes, if the storm
didn’t kill them, this ghost surely
would. Immediately, though,
Jesus put their fears to rest. He
told them, “Be of good cheer; it is
I; be not afraid,” (Matthew 14:27
KJV).
Now, in spite of Jesus’s assurance
that they shouldn’t be
afraid, good ol’ Peter opened
his mouth and put the Lord to
the test. He wanted to see if it
really was Jesus walking on the
water, or if the fear and fatigue
had caused their minds to play
tricks on them.
Though Peter was trying to test
Jesus, it was Jesus who ended
up testing Peter and his faith.
Here’s how the Bible describes
it in Matthew 14:28-29a (KJV):
“And Peter answered him and
said, ‘Lord, if it be thou, bid me
come unto thee on the water.’
And he [Jesus] said, ‘Come.’”

Peter was caught. Jesus had
just given him the opportunity
to prove his faith. Peter had to
make a choice. Would he trust
Jesus and step out on the water,
or stay in the boat where he was
safe?
The Bible says, “...And when
Peter was come down out of the
ship, he walked on the water, to
go to Jesus” (Matthew 14:29b).
At that moment, Peter had to
decide to have faith. He had to
decide to trust Jesus both with
the thing he hoped for, being
safely rescued, and with the
thing he couldn’t see, how he
would be able to do what Jesus
was asking him to do. Peter literally
stepped out in faith and
walked on water.
How many times does that
happen to us? How many times
do we fi nd ourselves in Peter’s
position? Maybe we’re not literally
walking on water, but how
many times has Jesus called us
to act in faith, to trust Him with
what we hope for and what we
can’t see? How many times
have we actually done it?
More likely, we’re more familiar
with the next emotion Peter
felt: fear. Undoubtedly, we’ve
run to it more than we have to
Jesus. That is human nature.
All of us have experienced fear,
and Peter is no exception. In
the Bible, it says, “But when he
saw the wind boisterous, he was
afraid; and beginning to sink,
he cried, saying, ‘Lord, save
me.’ And immediately Jesus
stretched forth his hand, and
caught him, and said unto him,
‘O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt?’” (Matthew
14:30-31 KJV).
The instant Peter took his eyes
off Jesus, the instant he stopped
trusting Him, he began to sink.
But, the instant he cried to Jesus
for help, the instant he put his
trust back in Him, Jesus rescued
him. Because Peter made
the decision to trust God with
what he hoped for and what he
couldn’t see, he experienced a
miracle.
We, too, can experience a miracle
when we make the same
choice. No matter what the outcome
of our circumstances is,
we can rest in the promise that
Jesus is control, and He has our
hopes and dreams in His hands.
Because He loves us, we can
trust God with the things we
hope for by acknowledging that
His plans are best.
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians
4:17, “For our light affliction,
which is but for a moment, worketh
for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory…”
(KJV). Even when our situation
makes it seem like God is anything
but in control, we have to
realize that His plans our best
because He sees the entire
story, and He’s using this situation
to bring us closer to Him.
Peter’s situation defi nitely wasn’t
ideal when he realized that he
was walking in the middle of a
wild storm, but when he acknowledged
that God was in control,
he was brought closer to Jesus
and experienced His glory.
We also have to trust God with
the things we can’t see. Later,
in 2 Corinthians 5:7, it says, “For
we walk by faith, not by sight,”
(KJV). We can’t see what God
sees. We can’t see the solution
to our problems, the path to our
dreams, or the future of our families.
That is why we have to trust
God with what we can’t see.
We have to trust that He will take
care of us, even if we can’t see
how, because we know that He
loves us. Peter couldn’t understand
how Jesus was going to
enable him to walk on water.
He couldn’t see how it would
work. But, he trusted in Jesus to
take care of him, in spite of how
impossible the situation seemed,
and as a result, he was a part of
a miracle.
So, how can we live in faith?
How can we “walk on water” with
Jesus in whatever circumstances
we face? We have to remember
three things. First, we have to
trust that God is good. He is
worthy to be trusted. In addition,
we have to trust that He loves
us. Because of that, He will take
care of us. Finally, we have to
trust that His plans are best. He
works out our circumstances for
a greater story, but we just can’t
see that story fully yet. If we can
remember these things, we, too,
will be able live in faith and experience
a miracle with Jesus.
Katie Hamilton is a writer and
high school English teacher from
Arkansas. She enjoys sharing
the love of Jesus with others
through her writing. In her free
time, she likes to spend time with
her husband, family, and puppy.

Then andNow
MARIANNE
EVANS
“Then and Now” is nominated
in the romance category for
the Christian small publishers
award. “Then and Now” promotes
sexual purity Something
that is greatly needed
to be discussed in our society
today. This book is about
love, fun, trials, and honoring
God. “Then and NOW” needs
to be in every home. Marianne
Evans has taken time to
speak with us about her book
that is gaining so much attention
and praise.
Can you tell us a little about
yourself?
I began writing Christ-centered
romance and fi ction about six
years ago when I won a writing
contest sponsored by my
publisher, Pelican Book Group.
Twenty-fi ve books later, I haven’t
looked back. Writing about love,
exploring the circumstances that
can drive a couple to fi nd one
another, and even push them
apart at times, makes the journey
such fun, and different every
day. Honoring God with the gifts
He’s given me is a blessing I
don’t take for granted. I love to
celebrate love.
Without giving the book away,
can you tell us what it is
about?
Aiden Balfour, the hero of the
story, has always craved stability,
independence and security.
He’s led a rocky life but always
treasured his summers in Northern
Michigan with his best summertime
friend, Olivia Masters.
Olivia is dedicated to preserving
the life she’s known and always
treasured at her grandparent’s
home high on a bluff overlooking
the pristine waters of Avalon.
With their blessing, she’s turned
the expansive piece of property
into a quaint, restful bed
and breakfast. But developers
are circling—and they’re led by
none other than Aiden Balfour.
Now an ambitious businessman,
he’s determined to turn the
lake into a tourist mecca. A successful
business owner, Olivia is
equally determined to stop him...
no matter what his hold on her
heart.
Who is the targeted audience
for the book “Then and Now?”
Typically books like Then and
Now are targeted for women, but
I hope the universal message of
self-exploration and fi nding love

will appeal to everyone. The
characters are younger, in their
mid- to late-twenties, but again,
I believe the journey taken by
Aiden and Olivia will resonate
with people of all ages.
Did you have things or people
that inspired the writing of the
book?
Avalon is a place that truly
exists. The city of Hillman, and
Lake Avalon, are located toward
the tip of the state of Michigan.
My grandparents owned a
place just like the one I describe
and use as the setting for the
story. Avalon is idyllic, full of
pine scented air, pure, springfed
water of sparkling blue and
hiking trails. I loved bringing this
place of my heart to life in the
pages of Then and Now.
How and why did you pick the
title “Then and Now?”
The title came to me straight
away because the story arc follows
the transformation of the
hero and heroine between their
youth and adulthood. A lot of
life happens between ‘Then and
Now’ and I like to think this story
follows that truth to a full circle.
Why did you feel the importance
to write on abstinence?
Then and Now is the second
book I’ve written that features
a hero and heroine practicing
abstinence before marriage, and
I have a third in the editing process
with my publisher. I believe
in the passion and butterfl ies
of falling in love, but there’s a
deeper, richer beauty to following
God’s plan, and Word, and
embracing what I like to call ‘the
thrill of the wait.’ I want younger
readers in particular to understand
there’s excitement and
tummy-tingles to the process of
falling love, not just the consummation.
As a writing missionary,
I felt that’s a
theme that
just begs to be
explored.
“Then and Now,” is a nominee
in the romance category
for the Christian Small Publisher’s
Book of the Year
award, what is that like for
you as a writer?
It’s a thrill! I’m delighted the
readers/book store owners
who judge the contest have
seen fi t to give Then and Now
this honor. Final contest results
will be announced in mid-April.
The acknowledgment is wonderful,
but it’s all about spreading
God’s message.
Are you working on any
more books now or foresee
any in the future?

My next book, Forgiveness,
releases later this year. I also
have a novella titled Nobody’s
Baby But Mine, releasing soon
as part of an anthology I’ve created
with three other authors.
Then, there’s The Fairytale
which will release soon as
part of the Pure Amore line of
romances (much like Then and
Now). Beyond that, I’m crafting
a three-book series, The Fishermen
of Antioch. I’m delighted
to be commissioned by Pelican
Book Group for these stories,
and look forward to continuing
our relationship!
How can the book “Then and
Now” be purchased?
Currently, all twelve of the Pure
Amore books are available in a
bundle direct from Pelican Book
Group, either in e-book, paperback
or a combo at www.pelicanbookgroup.com.
I believe you will receive a blessing
from the book just as I did.
Grab a book for you friends, mom
and daughter. I would also like to
thank Marianne Evans for taking
time out of her busy schedule to
speak with Faith Filled Family
Magazine. We wish you the very
best!

ACTIVATE
Your
Faith
By Vernita Simmons
Each Christian has been given a
degree of faith. (Romans 12:3).
And we need it daily to function
in a world plagued by the decay
of sin. We need it daily to handle
our day to day routine. We need
it daily to believe, even when
our life seems to be falling apart
and there’s no relief in sight.
So, before we get deep into
this topic, let’s defi ne what faith
is. And according to Hebrews
11:1 – FAITH Is: Now faith is the
assurance (title deed, confi rmation)
of things hoped for (divinely
guaranteed), and the evidence
of things not seen [the conviction
of their reality-faith comprehends
as fact what cannot
be experienced by the physical
senses].
Strong’s Lexicon 1680: elpis
el-peace’ – to anticipate, (usually
with pleasure); expectation
(abstractly or concretely) or confi
dence:- faith (1)
4100: pisteuo pits-yoo’-o: to
have faith (in, upon, or with
respect to, a person or thing),
by implication, to entrust one’s
spiritual well-being to Christ);
believer(er), commit (to trust),
put in trust with (2)
We all know how easy it is to
maintain faith in God when life
is good and problems are minimum
and easy to resolve. But,
to keep that type of a momentum
can be challenging for most,
when hardships are insurmount-

able. How does one activate
their faith when you’re enduring
unrelenting trials which drains
you of your peace?.....Drowns
you in sorrow and despair? And
leave you with feelings of hopelessness
and powerlessness?
How does one carry on with such
burdens lingering with no signs
of change in the foreseeable
future? Well, Beloved… My best
answer to these heart pondering
questions is simple: No matter
what circumstance invade our
life, we have and always shall
have an astonishing history with
God. Let’s face it! This is not the
fi rst time we’ve had to fi ght the
good fi ght of faith. And guess
what?...... As unpleasant as this
may sound; it want be the last
time, neither. So, having said
all that, here is what I do to activate
my faith and hopefully, it will
work for you.
1) Pray without ceasing (I Thessalonians
5:16-18 ESV) ~ Dear
One ~ There is one thing I’ve
come to realize and recognize
to be true, prayer does change
things for the better. Hence,
when your patience is wearing
thin and you fi nd yourself
entertaining those negative
thoughts. Before you know, it’s
half a year and the situation has
escalated and now you’re weary
in well doing. This is why you
may have to continue in prayer
without ceasing. (I Thess. 5:17-
18) – (Excerpt from my upcoming
book: Neat’s Collection Of
Prayers). Prayer is a channel
between you and God, giving
you exclusive access to Him
24/7/365 with no drop calls, no
busy signals, no one saying you
have dialed a wrong number,
no placing you on hold, no sur
charges, no one taking a message
which never gets to Jesus,
no machine requesting you to
press number 1 or whatever
before you’re directed to God…..
No!......Your earnest Prayers to
God gets His immediate attention.
Trust me, your prayers
will never get lost in traffi c. And
Jesus’ answer is never late… It’s
always on His exact precise time
schedule.
2) Give God Thanks ~ In the
midst of all the pain and sorrow,
I opted to give thanks unto the
Lord. And yes, sometimes, I
became frustrated and even
angry. But, I discovered that
there’s something beautiful and
tranquil when we take a moment
to thank God. So, I use these
grand opportunities to boast of
the goodness of God as I went
thru diffi cult times. You see - Its
sweet incense coming before
His throne of grace and God
can’t resist such earnest and
sincere gratitude. He will move
that mountain and cast it into the
depth of the sea.
3) I apply Praise and Worship ~
as a weapon of mass destruction
to combat the schemes of the
enemy. Ultimately, I am anticipating
an extraordinary outcome
because I have total confi dence
in God to go beyond the norm.
Thus, I worship the Lord with
my whole heart and passion for
Christ and loving Him with your
whole heart, mind, soul, strength
and might. (Duet. 6:4; Mark
12:30; Luke 40:27). Now, praise
is easy because it’s celebrating
for what God has done in your
life. However, worship is a sacrifi
ce due to being in “the waiting
room” for delivery to come
forth. You don’t know when or
how, and neither how long. But,
you have to place your spiritual
well-being into the hands of God
and trust Him, while waiting with
great expectation.
Thus, worship is a time of intimacy
between you and the Lord.
It synched your heart with His
heart and keep you forever close
to Him. It brings pace to your
mind, enabling you to wait without
grumbling and complaining.
It helps you to stand still and see
the salvation of the Lord.
4) I Wrote My History Report
I’ve gained with the Lord ~ I literally
made a list of some of the
toughest and darkest times I’ve
endured and recorded the awesome
outcome. Then, as time
would prevent itself, I utilized
such glorious testimonials to
boast of my magnificent Savior.
For example, several years ago,
I had returned home from visiting
my parents during my summer
vacation. Now, before I left, I
had paid off a credit card I was
indebted to. Add to this, I knew it
would be a month before I would
receive my fi rst pay check, due,
to the fact that I was a Substitute
Teacher.
When I arrived home, I checked
my mail and guess what?...
You’re not going to believe
this…… There was a check
from the credit card company in
the amount of…. Wait for it!....
$400.00, and to this day, I have
no idea why they sent it to me
and nor did I attempt to inquiry
about it. And no!..I hadn’t overpaid
them!.......As far as I was
concerned, I left knowing God
would make a way out of no way
and He did! Now that’s unshakeable,
unequivocally, it makes no
sense how God will come thru -

faith in God.
5) I encouraged myself in the Lord
~ As an Indie Author, (self-published)
– I know what it is like to
become frustrated and seriously
discouraged when attempting to
promote your book. Obviously, if
I don’t advertise and market my
book, no one will know I have a
book published. And I diligently
put in the hours and foot work to
get the word out about my book.
Whether thru social media, word
of mouth, contacting Leaders of
church I’m affl icted with, creating
my own PR Kit, etc; However, it’s
dis - hearting when the results
of my efforts doesn’t turn out in
more sales. But, guess what? I
encouraged myself in the Lord.
I’m not giving up because I’m
not a quitter. Though, I want be
using social media as an outlet
to do such, as often as I have in
the past.
The Lord has given me a new
plan and I’m confi dent, one day,
my sales are going to sky rocket.
And here is an inspiring accolade
from one of my greatest
admirers; Lisa Castracane: “Her
teachings reminds me of TD
Jakes of the Potter House, telling
people to get ready for their
break through or Joel Osteen
who says; “if God has put a
period on something don’t put a
question mark on it, but accept
the blessing.” All I can say is:
If you love T.D. Jakes and Joel
Osteen’s books, you’ll going to
love my book(s)! And to the few
who has purchased my book, I
am forever grateful to you for the
reviews and encouragement. I
certainly, couldn’t accomplish
this without you.
These are only a few means
in which you can activate your
faith. Because faith is what you
hope for. It hasn’t manifested
and neither do you know when
the answer is coming. During
such times, you can either complain,
become overwhelmed
with doubt and fear or take
authority over such spirits and
make up your mind that if God
did it before He will come thru
again and again. Moreover, the
more you activate your faith the
deeper your relationship with the
Lord becomes and you grow to
trust Him more.
Discuss how we can
strengthen faith as a believer
so that we can overcome
obstacles.
I just love this second part. One
of the greatest means thru which
faith can be strengthen is by
proclaiming the infallible word
of God over your life daily. It is
pertinent that you saturate yourself
in the word habitually. When
the enemy hear the word of God
from a “show ‘nough” child of
God, that demon began to shake
and tremble. This is why it’s
impertinent not to respond to the
adversary in your carnal nature
- (your fl esh). For those who are
living according to the fl esh set
their minds on the things of the
fl esh [which gratify the body], but
those who are living according to
the spirit [set their minds on] the
things of the spirit [His will and
purpose] Romans 8:5 AMP).
When the devil fl ash fear and
the worst case scenario within
your mind, you must stand your
ground and resist the temptation
to indulge in such heart wrenching
thoughts. I challenge you to
do like David did when the devil
ramps and rage as what he will
do to you. You can shout aloud:
I come to you in the name of
the Lord of hosts, the God of
the armies of Israel, whom you
have taunted. (I Samuel 17:43-
45 AMP).
Every day, I arm myself in my
awesome spiritual warfare attire.
Put on the full armor of God [for
His precepts are like the splendid
armor of a heavily-armed
solider], so that you may be
able to [successfully], stand up
against all the schemes and
the stories and the deceit of the
devil. (Eph. 6:10-18) Yes!...I am
armed and dangerous and ready
to thrust the enemy through with
the sword of the spirit. I trust the
Lord no matter what. I know God
is faithful and His word is true.
I choose to believe every promise
in His word and I refuse to
be controlled by how I feel. I
dictate to my circumstances
and I chooses to be content.
Come…..Follow Me on this link
to my website and read My 15
Faith Filled Proclamations which
can encourage, inspire and
empower you throughout your
day to bring you into the presence
of God. JUST CLICK ON
Neat’s Bio, scroll down to Inspirational
Readings: Undoubtedly,
you will be blessed and happy
that you did! http://vsworshiper7.
wix.com/godwordsmyvoice87
God loves you and guess
what?...........I do too!

Interview with
Ali Husnain based on
actual events
By Robyn Shelbourne
“There aren’t many
people who can say they
were on a terroristf t
“hit list” at the age of
17, but that is one place
Ali Husnain found himself.“
Faith Filled Family Magazine interviewed Ali Husnain
to get his story about his new book “The Cost”.
Zondervan released “The Cost – My Life On A
Terrorist Hit List” by Ali Husnain and J. Chester
on March 8, 2016(Print ISBN: 9780310344865,
MSRP: $24.99, Format: Hardcover, 256 pages).
In the interview Ali gave me a brief glimpse into
his book and what we could expect out of it. It
took my breath away and lifted me up just to be
in his presence. I want to share with you all of his
words.
There aren’t many people who can say they were
on a terrorist “hit list” at the age of 17, but that
is one place Ali Husnain found himself. Born in
Pakistan, into a prominent Shia Muslim family; his
life began with wealth and a high ranking social
status. He had everything a boy could ever dream

The Cost:
My Life On A Terrorist Hit List
consider that normal, typical,
family life, but all of that would
soon change.
Christianity and Jesus were not
things that Ali’s family, friends,
or society openly accepted. In
fact, being a Christian in Pakistan
was dangerous and something
that brought shame to your
entire family. It was only through
visiting his grandmother and
great aunt in England that he
was introduced to the concept
Ali realized his great aunt was a Christian.
He was angry at first. Questions followed.
He prayed to Allah, asking him “Why, if he
was so powerful, would he not allow Christianity
in Pakistan?”
of, until he met God. Some say
when you fi nd God life becomes
easier, but when Ali found God;
that’s where his struggle began.
To understand how Ali made
it onto that list, we must travel
back in time to get a glimpse of
the decision that would change
the course of his life forever.
Ali’s childhood was, in many
ways, like any childhood most
of us can relate to. His mom
and dad divorced when he was
young, and he lived with his
mom, step dad, two sisters, and
one step brother. Struggles
after the divorce were there, but
life was overall good. His family
was wealthy and prominent
enough to have servants in their
home for whatever they needed,
even Ali. One of the best memories
he recalls is: each summer
break his family would get three
months off. For two weeks
during that time they would go
up north in the mountains. They
sang songs in the car, reached
the top of the mountain, looked
out to see different things, and
they stayed in a hotel. We would
of Jesus Christ and Christianity.
Upon his arrival, Ali realized his
great aunt was a Christian. He
was angry at fi rst. Questions followed.
He prayed to Allah, asking
him “Why, if he was so powerful,
would he not allow Christianity in
Pakistan?” He prayed and asked
why they could not believe in
Jesus and why there was shame
there. He wanted to know who
the true God was, Mohammed
or Jesus. So, he began studying
the Bible and attended church.
Ali felt God’s presence there.
He talked with the pastor, tell-

ing him he wanted to see Jesus
Christ. And, in a dream, that’s
exactly what happened. He
recalls seeing a bright light and
someone standing there speaking
to him. The voice said: “My
son, you wanted to see me, and
I am here. If you obey me, I will
give you eternal life and forgive
your sins.” That was his fi rst
experience with Christ. Ali woke
from his dream crying, thinking
he was going to die. He knew
that this was real, and that made
him stronger. Through more and
more dreams, his relationship
with Christ grew.
Ali went back to Pakistan with a
softer, more humble heart that
now belonged to Christ. Though
he didn’t immediately tell anyone
that he had converted, his
mother began to recognize a difference
in him. Where he once
yelled at his sisters and servants,
he began to do his own laundry
and iron his own shirts. Ali had
more rights as an older child,
and he had grown older in age
so his mother assumed that was
the reason behind his sudden
change. This pleased her. His
father became more interested
in his studies, and also did not
question his new demeanor. Ali
quit going to mosque as often
and when his mother asked him
about it, he said he wanted to
become a more humble Muslim.
He was afraid to tell people he
was a Christian.
Ali told his friend what happened
while he was in England, that he
saw Jesus Christ. His friend told
his father who was a member
of a fundamentalist group. The
group discussed the matter at
hand, and the next day they
came to Ali’s school. His friend
asked Ali to come outside with
him, where the group attacked
him. He had no clue why they
were attacking him. A man
stabbed him with a knife, and
he lost consciousness. He was
16. The next thing he knew he
was waking up in a hospital bed.
Ali became a target because his
family was prominent. Everyone
knew Ali and his family. A normal
converted Christian could have
moved to another city and been
fi ne, but Ali’s family and his conversion
were in the newspapers
in Pakistan. Nothing was normal
about his situation, and this
made life for Ali very unsafe. The
group attacked his home, forcing
him to move to a new city with
another one of his aunts. He was
not able to hide from them even
in a new city. They found him
and attacked his home, injuring
his aunt that later died due to her
injuries. Ali escaped once again,
and lived in another city for a few
months. It was there he applied
for a visa and went to London.
His safety still remains in jeopardy.
Three years ago there was
a phone call threatening his and
his aunt’s safety. He moved,
once again, for a year and a half
and then was ultimately able to
return.
Through all of his trials and
struggles, Ali still wants to return
to Pakistan and open a medical
facility to support the poor of
his city. He wants to be able to
provide medicine and treatment
while giving something back to
the people in Pakistan. They
might be surprised and think:
“We took everything away from
this guy, but he still comes back
and blesses us.” Ali says that
it is not him but God who gave
him this testimony and the heart
to forgive because God forgave
him. He understands that
returning to his city, he could be
killed; but he knows that God will
protect him. He does fear for his
family, though. He wonders how
they will react to him and is afraid
they will be harmed because
of his return. He doesn’t want
to hurt them in any way, but he
knows this is something he has
to do for God.
What can we do as Christians
to help? We can read his book,
“The Cost”, be encouraged, keep
our faith, and know that people
in the US and UK are privileged.
Reach out to Muslims, and pray
for them. When trying to spread
the word, share your story, and
come to them in love. Christianity
is a story of love. Act how
the Bible teaches you to act.
Becoming the Bible is a powerful
tool of evangelism in Ali’s eyes.
He wants to be a friend and
brother, spend time with and will
pray for all his Muslim friends.
Honesty is very important. He
says that God has given him an
opportunity to share his story
through his own personal struggles.
Because of this he wants
to go back to Pakistan and share
the message with his friends
and family that his God is a great
God. He wants to say: “I love
you, and God has given me the
power to forgive. Our God forgives,
and we have to forgive as
well.” I made mistakes, but God
still forgave and loves me. He
wants people to be encouraged
through their hard times. When
he became a Christian things
became harder and harder
for him instead of easier. “It is
always worth it, though. God is
powerful. Keep turning to God,
no matter the diffi culties you

face. God has a plan for everyone.”
Here is a little more information
on the authors of “The Cost”:
Ali Husnain (name changed for
security reasons) is a young Pakistani
refugee evangelist living in
the United Kingdom. Ali plans to
return to Pakistan, despite the
fatwa issued against him, with
the conviction that God is calling
him to build a medical facility
in his hometown and preach
the gospel to the very men who
tried to kill him as a teenager. Ali
plans to return in 2018.
J. Chester (name changed for
security reasons) is a writer
living in England. He has written
widely on international development,
social justice and has
a keen interest in bringing new
stories to western readers.
This is a book you will want to
purchase to fi ll in the blanks and
get the rest of Ali’s story. He has
such a powerful testimony to
share with anyone from any type
of background who might be
struggling, trying to fi nd their purpose
in life, or looking for God.
His words are so uplifting, and
we could all benefi t from knowing
there are people out there
just like Ali. You can get “The
Cost” here: http://www.zondervan.com/the-cost
or learn a little
more about Ali here: https://thecost.squarespace.com/home.
A special thank you goes out to
Ali Husnain for spending part of
his day letting me interview him.
It was a true blessing. I want to
also give a shout out to Heidi
McDow from A. Larry Ross Communications,
who facilitated the
interview. Here is their website
for you to check out also: http://
To Purchase on Christian
Bookstore, Please Click here
To Purchase on Amazon.com,
Please Click here

By Charlaine Martin
Along the Maumee
River south of Toledo,
Ohio are some very
expensive homes lining the
river front. On one side of the
river occasionally a home will
disappear, a victim of erosion.
Yellow caution tape appeared in
its place. The homes surviving
erosion are set back farther away
from the river edge or up on the
hill across the street also having
a fantastic view of the river. Why
did some home succumb to the
river’s erosive effects and others
did not? Those that fell were
not solidly anchored. The home
owners wanted to be close to
the scenic river view from their
back windows. They neglected
warnings that the fl ood plain was
already showing erosion wear
causing the topsoil to slip out
from under the structure, known
as undermining. (Bruner, 1970)
This is still a problem today.
Those who were wise stayed
back from the fl ood plain where
the ground was solid.
This situation is a great visual
illustration for a parable Jesus
told. Many of us grew up in
church learning the song, “The
Wise Man Built His House
Upon the Rock.” As adults,
we’ve read about the wise and
foolish builders from Matthew
7:24-27 and Luke 6:46-49 in
our devotions or Sunday School
lessons. Do we ponder this
passage when we must make
an important decision? Our faith
can be undermined by building
our proverbial house on the
sand, ready to collapse at the
slightest gusts from life. Making
wise decisions requires us to
know the character of God while
recognizing His voice through
His Word, the Holy Spirit, and
other Christians.
Living Contrasts
All we have to do is look at
headlines in the news to see
the results of foolish living: Hulk
Hogan had sex with someone
else’s wife then discovered it was
on video posted on the internet
(Hogan, 2014). His shameful
act was exposed to the world.
Following Joseph’s example
from Genesis could have helped
him avoid such an embarrassing
revelation. What about a godly
elderly couple celebrating their
50th wedding anniversary? It
might appear in feel-good posts
on Facebook but rarely does
it get a prominent spot in the
news. The lead pastor of the
Seoul Korean mega church,
the Yoido Full Gospel Church,
embezzled $12 million in 2014

Faith
Or
Foolishness?

7 Principles for Living by Faith
1. What does God have to say
about our issue or dilemma?
Doing a daily dig into the
Bible for nuggets of wisdom is
the best way to start our day
(Psalm119:115). We often skim
the surface for tidbits of comfort
instead of mining deep for the
wealth of truth contained inside.
It is not always comfortable, yet
it is very important. When we
need to fi nd something particular
in the Bible, it will bring light into
the situation.
2. God does not contradict
Himself. If you want to do
something, but it goes against
God’s Word, then it would be
foolish to continue that direction.
The timeless principles you
have learned from your Bible
study and devotional time you
can confi dently put into practice
(2 Timothy 2:15,19, Proverbs
3:5-6). You can trust God’s
instruction.
3. Look to godly role models
and consider the outcome of
their decisions (1 Corinthians
11:1). Examine the lives of
Bible greats for examples of
wise living, remembering they
were not perfect. What are they
commended for? What were the
results of their sinful areas of
living? Find a mentor who loves
the Lord and lives out God’s
Word daily. How is God blessing
him or her? What are they doing
that is seen as wise by other
Christians? What are the results
of their faithful obedience?
4. Pray about important decisions
(Philippians 4:6). Making hasty,
rash decisions without thought
and prayer will result in disaster
every time. Joshua made this
mistake by entering into a
treaty with the Gibeonites who
fooled him into believing they
had travelled in from far away
(Joshua 9) Listen for the still
small voice of the Holy Spirit on
your issue (1 Kings 19:11-13).
5. Learn from past mistakes
(James 1:21-25). What were
the results of going against
wise counsel? According to
one Christian Ethics professor
at a Christian college, “If your
decisions were published in the
news, would you be embarrassed
and ashamed for your friends
and family to read about it?”
6. Compare the lives of Christians
versus non-Christians dealing
with similar issues (Psalm 1).
Watch those in the news who
are doing well compared to the
lives of those who are not. Note
the differences to fi nd out what
each one did and the outcome of
such decisions.
7. Remember to set the right
example for the next generation.
Be careful to avoid setting up a
stumbling block for your children
and their friends (Matthew 18:6).
Often times, we can see our
behavior and words mirrored
by them. When we see or hear
something undesirable, it’s time
to make a personal assessment
and change course (Romans
12:3). Also, let them know
when God has blessed you in a
decision so they learn how God
works in our time.
from funds belonging to the
church. Although he did not go
to prison, he was required to pay
a $4.7 million fi ne (Reed, 2014).
It was reported that his son was
probably part of the reason for the
pastor’s disgrace. This Christian
leader caved to temptation by
making a foolish choice rather
follow God’s command to not
steal from Leviticus 19:11. But
what about a Christian corporate
leader who built up his company
by saving millions of dollars
through avoiding a bad deal?
Rarely do we see such ethical
business practices held up in
high esteem. People love a juicy
morsel of sinful living to devour.
Foolish living draws unsavory
attention. It undermines the
security of one’s life.
Living Examples of Rock Solid
Living
Living this life in a world that
operates contrary to God’s
Word is very challenging. Men
and women of faith face such
challenges through prayer,
Bible study, and trusting God
for the results. Such people are
wonderful role models for us.
There are many examples
of Christians who have
led an exemplary life. One
ordinary Christian man, an
executive director of a YMCA
in Northeastern Ohio, sets an
example for those who know him.
Jim was unusual for his position
because he rarely wore a suit and
tie for his workday unless he had
a special meeting that required
one. His mode of dress was
athletic wear. He was frequently
seen putting toilet paper in the
restroom, cleaning up spills,
shoveling snow, and stocking

the pop machines. When he
needed to ask questions from
one of the class instructors, he
either waited until the instructor
was fi nished with class or he did
the exercise movements as he
spoke with them. He was also
known to help with children’s
swim lessons or basketball
league when there were not
enough instructors available.
His extraordinary example
helped young adults advance
into leadership. He was unusual
because he lived faithfully to the
Lord, not caving to the power
and control of leadership nor
taking advantage of the people
under his care.
Not all decisions Christians
make have an ethical or moral
basis. In fact, acting on faith goes
against conventional wisdom
with amazing outcomes. What
the world, or even many other
Christians would normally do
given unusual circumstances, is
not always the way God wants
to us live. He acts in response to
our faith. We can learn so much
from faithful Christians we know.
Carmen Liccardello, known
simply as “Carmen” in the
Christian music world, has
different story of living by rock
solid faith versus foolish living.
He is well-known for his Addicted
to Jesus album released in
1993, among many others that
topped Christian music charts.
In February of 2013, Carmen
announced offi cially and on
Facebook he was diagnosed
with multiple myeloma, a cancer
that attacks the bone marrow.
He was given three to four
years to live. Carmen endured
very aggressive chemotherapy
treatments and bone marrow
transplants. Instead of getting
his affairs in order, planning to
die, he chose to follow the Lord’s
call on his life by continuing to
minister through music. God
was not done with him. He was
still supposed to reach people
for Jesus through the amazing
concerts he has long been known
for. He kicked of a Kickstarter
campaign in March of 2013 to
raise funds for his “No Plan B”
tour. As a result of Carmen’s
faithful obedience to the Lord,
he has been declared “cancer
free” by his doctors. Carmen
continues to minister through his
music today (Carment (singer),
2016) (Menzie, 2015)
Godly Parenting Sets a
Foundation of Wisdom
If you were blessed with
Christian parents, you already
have a fantastic foundation of
faith. They have invested years
of building that foundation by
being an example of how to live
wisely. They have also taught
you what God’s word says about
a number of topics for daily life.
Mom and Dad have prayed over
you and with you more often
than you can count. Thinking of
what they have already taught
you gives you an edge in life
(Proverbs 1:8). However, it is
no guarantee you will always do
what you learned. There seems
to be a bit of rebel in us that
makes us not want to do what
they said. It’s easy to cave into
our rebellious nature. That path
leads to destruction (Proverbs
14:12, Matthew 7:13). It is
important to follow the instruction
of wise, godly parents.
There are many of us who grew
up in non-Christian homes,
though. We have several
examples of how not to live. The
diffi culty is learning what God
says about certain situations and
fi guring out how apply it to our
life situations so we can begin
doing the right thing. Our family
members who are lost will likely
to poke fun at us for living by
faith because “the message of
the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who
are being saved it is the power of
God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV)
They know what buttons to push.
It is tempting to cave in to keep
peace in the family, but at what
cost? There are plenty of godly
people whose example will help
us live a life of faith.
We are also building a foundation
for our children, then later our
grandchildren. We want to help
them have the valuable wisdom
for living by faith when they
become adults. They watch us,
learn from us, and eventually
imitate us. When we make
mistakes, it’s important for them
to know we messed up, why
it was wrong, and what we are
doing to make things right. Let
us set the right example for them
now.
As believers in Christ, we belong
to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus.
“Jesus said, “My sheep listen
to my voice; I know them, and
they follow me.” (John 10:27). To
those who are evil, He says, “But
you do not believe, because you
are not of My sheep, as I said to
you. My sheep hear My voice,
and I know them, and they follow
Me. And I give them eternal life,
and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them
out of My hand” (John 10:26-28).
It takes time to get to know our
Lord’s voice, but once we do, we
will never forget. Our decisions

made by faith will not always be
popular, but they will be right.
We will often fi nd ourselves
walking alone on a narrow
path (Matthew 7:13-14). Jesus
is the Chief Cornerstone that
sets our house straight when
we follow Him in His teaching
(Acts 4:10-12). We can be sure
God will never lead us wrong. Our
house will be set properly upon
the Rock, our fi rm foundation.
Although the storms of life come,
we will stand strong.
Charlaine Martin is a freelance
writer, personal trainer and
owner of Totally Fit 4 Life www.
totallyfi t4life.net. She lives in
the Thumb of Michigan with
her husband. Charlaine has
three great adult children who
are married and fi ve active
grandchildren.

DISCERNING BETWEEN
GOD, SATAN
& YOU
By Gabrielle M Elisco
Have you ever heard someone
say the words, “God told me..”
then fi nish their statement with
detailed, strategic, well-thoughtour
plans that the Lord has given
them? Have you ever wondered,
“Why can’t I hear God like that?”
Years ago, I would often be
caught in a conversation with
fellow Christians and would
stumble across many topics
such as these. I would think to
myself, “What do they mean
God told them? How did they
hear Him? What does He sound
like?” I would actually grow
quite frustrated at my inability to
hear from Him. Was I not good
enough?
I am sure you have felt this way
at some time or another. Wondering
where God is or why,
or maybe even how, you could
possibly hear from Him. Before
examining your ears, let me
encourage you to observe your
eyes and your hands, fi rst. What
does that have to do with hearing
God? Well, my brothers
and sisters in Christ, absolutely
everything.
Throughout my impatient journey
as to hearing the voice of
the Lord, I considered what He
might actually say. How would
I know what God would say?
What types of things does He
actually speak of? Then, it hit
me. I had to turn to His word.
This is exactly where your eyes
and you hands serve their pivotal
purpose: you need to grab
your bible, fi x your eyes, and get
into the word of God.
As I read through countless
verses which indicated abundant
words the Lord had to say, I paid
attention to what He advised His
people to do. For more depth
insight, the gospels, Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, illustrate
the living words of Jesus Christ
which include counsel, advice,
healing, prayer, and even more.
Once I familiarized myself with
the voice of God, I began to fi nd
myself applying it to my practical
living. Those scriptures would
come into my mind and I began
to think, “Ah ha! The voice of the
Lord.” The more I grew in the
word, the more I was able to recognize
my Shepherd’s voice.

Knowing the word of the Lord is
essential in hearing His voice,
though that is only just the beginning.
There are three steps I like
to consider in hearing the voice
of the Lord. First, we must call
unto Him. Second, and the hardest
step, we must wait on Him.
Lastly, once hearing His voice,
we must actually listen to Him.
Jeremiah 33: 3 states, “Call to
me and I will answer you, and will
tell you great and hidden things
that you have not known.” Call to
Me. There is no ritual, no special
prayer, nothing expect a simple
call unto our Lord, and He will
answer. We need to understand
as Christians that our God is not
a cold hearted God. You may
think, well of course not, I knew
that. Yet how often do we perceive
God to not answer our calls
or our prayers simply because
we do not agree with His ways?
If we call to Him, though, He will
answer.
As for the second step, which
is the most diffi cult, it is important
to wait on the Lord. Psalm
27:14 says “Wait patiently for
the LORD. Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for
the LORD.” I used to place our
infi nite Lord within a timeframe
and pray, “Lord, if this is what I
am supposed to do, show me
today!” Then I would become
frustrated and believe He wasn’t
listening or didn’t care when I
had not heard from Him. Now
I have learned to pray, “Lord,
show me the way to go.” And in
His time, not mine, He is faithful
to answer.
Lastly, upon hearing the word of
the Lord, we must be as eager
to listen to His instructions as we
are to hear them. Many of times,
when God tells us what we are
to do, it is not easy nor does it
make sense. Our job, out of faith
in Him, is to trust in His ways and
listen to that still voice. Our God
promises, “I will instruct you and
teach you in the way you should
go; I will counsel you with my eye
upon you. Be not like a horse or
a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bit
and bridle, or it will not stay near
you” (Psalm 32:8-9).
When Jesus left this earth to
return home to our Father, He
left us with the Holy Spirit.
“If you love me, keep my commands.
And I will ask the Father,
and he will give you another
advocate to help you and be
with you forever— he Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept
him, because it neither sees him
nor knows him. But you know
him, for he lives with you and
will be in you. I will not leave you
as orphans; I will come to you.
Before long, the world will not
see me anymore, but you will
see me. Because I live, you also
will live. On that day you will realize
that I am in my Father, and
you are in me, and I am in you.
Whoever has my commands and
keeps them is the one who loves
me. The one who loves me will
be loved by my Father, and I too
will love them and show myself
to them” John 14:15-31
When you become born again
and invite Him to live inside
of your making your heart His
home, he infi ltrates your entire
being and serves as your spiritual
compass.
Here is the key. After continually
learning the word of the Lord,
and actively persisting on calling
upon Him, waiting on Him, and
listening to Him, we are able to
much more easily discern His
voice. The voice of the Lord
will always, always be in alliance
with the scriptures. If you
hear a voice telling you to alter
the paperwork a little bit, its just
a slight alteration; it’s not God.
For His word declares we are to
speak of truth (Proverbs 12:22).
Or maybe you hear a prompting
within you encouraging you
to seek revenge on that terrible
person that hurt you so deeply.
Also not of the Lord, for the word
encourages us to let vengeance
be the Lord’s and not our own
(Romans 12:19). Know that
those voices, though seemingly
sensible at times, if they do not
align with the word of God, they
are not from God, no matter how
appealing they may look. God’s
word brings life, encouragement,
fruitfulness, not anything that
will bring harm to ourselves or
another. Those voices are rather
that of the enemy or of our own
self-seeking fl eshly desire.
The next time you feel an arising
within your spirit to say or do
something, stop and discern if it
aligns with the Spirit of the Lord.
When He is your guide, you can
not go wrong. It may feel uneasy,
it may not even make much
sense to you, but He will never
lead you in a way that does not
align with His God-given destiny
He has purposed for your life.
Gabrielle Elisco is a Foster
Care Social worker from western
Pennsylvania. She received
a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology
from Westminster College. Her
passion is to write about the love
of her life, Jesus Christ.

Faith Tested
Will you Pass?
By Brenda Stapleton
I
remember vividly, as a child, staring at
a small, framed picture kept in the hall at my
grandmother’s house. The picture depicted two
children crossing a broken bridge. Behind them, a
guardian angel hovers; patiently, watching should
the children falter. I would smile as I would pass
the picture. Most people would assume from the
smile on my face, I could have a feeling of security,
thinking that angel was also with me. Instead,
I had a feeling of something so much bigger. Not
that the angel wasn’t providing a light, and as a
guide for the children, she was right by their side.
My feeling, was of knowing someone had sent
that angel. And oh, that feeling gave me so mucheverything.
How can you explain at a tender age,
what all you feel, when you fi rst realize the truth in
the word- in God’s words, such as in the Chapter
and Verse in the following ~
JOHN 11:40
“Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that,
if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the
glory of God?”
To think of God, and all of HIS glory waiting for
me. No, as a child, I would not think that way, but

as an adult? How awesome it is to know someone
loves me enough to give me the opportunity
to say, “I CHOOSE YOU!”
Everyone goes through troublesome times in their
lives. As younglings, we do not consider this as
trials. As young adults, we are so busy with life,
we consider it, but we come to the edge of faith so
often, we don’t really want to ask that question, but
it is there. “WHY?” “Why am I going through this?”
Think back to the fi rst time in your adult life, when
you called out to God for help. Now, think back to
the fi rst time in your adult life you called out to God
in praise. Which came fi rst, and which came more
than once? Let’s go back to the word for a minute~
1 PETER 1:7
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious
than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried
with fi re might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:”
JEREMIAH 17:7
“‘Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD,
and whose hope the LORD is.”
PHILIPPIANS 4:10

“And my God will meet all your
needs according to the riches of
his glory in Christ Jesus”
All three verses from the Bible
are saying the same thing,
repeatedly. God is promising to
meet your needs. “God will meet
your needs?” Do you believe it?
“Trust in the Lord, and you shall
be blessed.” Do you know the
word of the Lord, and do you
bathe in it to learn more? “The
trial of your faith, more precious
than gold, will be found when
you appear before Christ.” Wow!
What a thought! None of these
say, “Well, you are on your own!”
“Hope you fair, well?” Instead, the
Bible tells us that every promise
has a condition. The more you
trust God, the more God meets
the needs in your life.
If you are thinking, “I thought
God loved me unconditionally?”
No, but don’t we? Why shouldn’t
we? We are taught this from
small children, and it is emphasized
as adults. As a parent,
don’t you love your children
unconditionally? I would say,
“Yes, I do.” So, you and God can
love the same, unconditionally?
You have the ability to love, to
sacrifi ce your children, such as
the Lord? I am not equal to God.
So, do I love my children unconditionally,
or does HE not love us
unconditionally. I would say, HE
loves me, yes; but God also has
the ability to make sacrifi ces I
am unwilling to make. Therefore,
if conditions aren’t met, God is
willing to “conditionally” allow
me, or you for that matter, to be
lost.
When I say a condition, don’t
let me discourage you. Let’s go
back to 1 Peter 1:7. What I mean
by a condition is, consider the
word, situation? Remember the
verse says…
“These trials will show that your
faith is genuine. It is being tested
as fi re tests and purifi es gold.”
Therefore, the Bible tells us that
with every situation that arises in
your life, there is also a promise,
or a condition you must meet
to with that promise - you have
to trust him. The condition- the
promise – in any situation that
arises, to consider the test at
hand, consider what God has
told you. These situations, are
referred to as trials, and through
these, faith is built in God. Without
faith in God, what happens?
Do you receive the greatest gift
of all from God? We’ll talk more
about that later.
Have you been through one
of God’s faith-building trials?
During a morning Bible Study
class, we discussed trials and
faith. The group leader described
two common trials that God
uses to test our faith. Have you
gone through one of these trials,
and if so, did the trial leave you
with an opportunity to develop
your faith further? I asked my
sixteen-year-old daughter this
same question, and she said
she had felt instances in her life
thus far, where certain situations
had transpired, making her feel
more conscientious about the
decisions she has had to make
since then. These she felt were
the result of what we learned as
“The Pressure Test”.
The pressure test is when situations
are based on your ability to
handle stress in your life. When
stress arises, what do you do?
Do you handle the stress by your
own capabilities and past skills
developed from experience, or
perhaps you give it all to God?
PSALM 50:15
“Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will
honor me”.
My daughter said there were
times she had felt pressure from
teachers, pressure from friends,
from the Principal at her school,
from coaches, and even yes,
from me. As a teenager, she did
not feel she should question the
pressure of anyone other than
her friends. Adults such as teachers
and coaches, sometimes she
felt uncomfortable with not being
able to address her concerns,
and the Principal at her school,
most of all she felt pressure.
However, when I asked her if
she prayed about the pressures
she felt, her response was, “No,
I think God is too busy to worry
about stuff like that.”
As a mother, I felt a bit worried,
as I thought she should be able
to go to God about anything. Yet
when asked about it, she thinks
God is too busy? I did not just
let this go, and as I pursued it,
I found there were things, I, too
were unaware of. Why? She
thought, I was too busy as well.
During trials and tests in my own
child’s life, she failed the pressure
test.
The pressure test was one test
the group discussed, the other
test was called “the People test”.
This test uses the people in your
life to develop your faith. We all
have family and friends. Some
are nuclear, some are extended,
some are church family and

friends, some are school family
and friends, some are work
family and friends, and I think
you see how this goes. The
more activities and such you are
involved in, the larger your community
of family and friends you
have. All of them are in your life
for a reason, and God uses them
to help you. I have been told,
sometimes God will remove all of
those people to have you agree
with the worst critic in your lifethe
one person who gives you
the most trouble, and the one
person who you need the most
when the decision to get through
these tests occur. That personis
you, and me. For when my
daughter failed the pressure
test, we talked about before, I
failed the people test. I failed
to be involved in the school, in
the family, in the time when my
daughter needed to have me
available to discuss the people
in her life, and in mine.
Maybe you have had diffi culty
in your life with a marriage, with
children, or with a career? We all
face disappointments and there
are many times we feel we are
overcome with problems in our
lives, and fewer answers are
present when we look for them.
Does this mean we do not have
faith? Does this mean we do
not trust in God? Sometimes,
we get upset and pressured to
reach a solution. We then look
to a family of church friends and
church members. Other times,
we may just reach out to our personal
friends and family, or we
may try to handle the situation
ourselves. Every time you make
a decision to fi nd a solution, you
are making a spiritual and courageous
answer. This answer, is
made as a result of the test of
faith. The person who makes it?
Well, we already talked about
who that is. The questions now,
is how?
Faith is tested during confl ict.
Your confi dence in Jesus and
everything HE has promised you
is challenged. So how do we all
overcome these challenges?
HEBREWS 13:5-6
“ Let your conversation be without
covetousness; and be content
with such things as ye have:
for he hath said, I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee; So
that we may boldly say, The Lord
is my helper, and I will not fear
what man shall do unto me.
“I will not fear what man shall do
unto me.”
What proof in these words, to
hold and believe steadfastly
amongst the challenges of faith
in life! To know no matter what
comes our way, God is for us.
Do you have a challenge against
your faith right now? Are you
unsure if you are strong enough
to handle it? Let’s once again,
remember the word of God,
and remember that every challenge
strengthens your faith for
the next one. You will continually
work through them, and you will
not be alone. There will be one
after another, and they will not
come at any perfect time. Just
know that challenges you will
strengthen your faith, right up
until the point of our own physical
death, which is in fact, the last
and greatest test of faith. Faith
is trust in God. Faith is absolute
and it can never be forsaken.
So why do we fear, faith? Why do
we fear, trust? Are there times,
we will wonder, “Can I take anymore?”
Is it fear that keeps us
from believing everything we
have been taught? Remember
what Jonah did. In the belly of the
whale, he believed. He remembered,
and if you have faith and
trust the Lord, knowing HE is
with you? You are not alone, and
even when you are tired and can
fi ght no more, you can “just be”.
And sometimes, that is greater,
that is better, that is more precious
than anything else.
PSALMS 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am
God: I will be exalted among the
heathen, I will be exalted in the
earth.”
So many people talk to others
about the problems they have
in their daily lives. We are
approaching Tax Season now,
and many people will be talking
about problems they have
with fi nances. They will tell each
other their sorrows, and how
their lives, their families and
careers will now be affected by
their fi nances. I wonder, just
how many of those have tithed?
I hear many people say, I don’t
go to a church or I haven’t found
a church, so I wonder, why not
tithe to St. Jude’s Children’s
Hospital? Why not tithe to the
any of these organizations? If
you do not have a church home,
then tithe to an organization who
reaches out to others, and helps
support missionaries?
2ND CORINTHIANS 9:7
“Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart, [so let him
give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity:
for God loveth a cheerful
giver.”
Be cheerful and give freely, as

God loves givers. Find a Godly
organization if you do not have
a church to tithe to, and tithe to
those in need, so you are giving
unto those in need. Just as God
rewards those who give, you will
tithe, and your life will refl ect HIS
blessings in your life.
LUKE 6:38
“Give, and it shall be given unto
you; good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and
running over, shall men give into
your bosom. For with the same
measure that ye mete withal it
shall be measured to you again.”
Are you focused in your life now,
or do you feel as you are constantly
on the edge of faith? Do
you feel as if you are constantly
being pushed over one hurdle
after another?
This could be the pressure of
the test, or it could be the people
test. Maybe the Study Group
was correct, in these two types
of tests, or is there another?
ROMANS 1:9
“For therein is the righteousness
of God revealed from faith
to faith: as it is written, The just
shall live by faith.”
Romans reads …”it is written the
just shall live by faith.”
I have also heard, those who
live by faith are just and righteous
in the eyes of God. Does
that mean they are never challenged?
Absolutely, NOT! Whatever
is not done in faith by the
righteous, is sin. Those who sin
outside of faith, do so in fear,
which is also not of faith. The law
is not of faith, and can never be
justifi ed by faith. Only the faith
through Jesus Christ can be justifi
ed, as this faith brings us back
to HIM.
2ND CORINTHIANS 5:5-9
“Now he that hath wrought us
for the self same thing [is] God,
who also hath given unto us the
earnest of the Spirit. Therefore
[we are] always confident, knowing
that, whilst we are at home
in the body, we are absent from
the Lord: (For we walk by faith,
not by sight) 8We are confi dent,
[I say], and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord. Wherefore
we labour, that, whether present
or absent, we may be accepted
of him.”
“For we walk by faith, not by
sight.”
God has a plan for each of us. As
we are born into this world and
we stumble as babies, we are
born, not by sight, but to reach
out to others. We reach out in
faith, as it is all we know. It is
our nature to learn faith, even as
children. As we grow and learn
about God, we realize it is God
who gives is what is needed.
From our very fi rst prayer, we
learn…
MATTHEW 6:11
“Give us this day, our daily
bread.”
We want our daily bread, don’t
we? And if you love bread,
and I sure do, then every day
when your plate is made, it
isn’t complete without a slice
of it. Sometimes, I want a slice
of white bread, and sometimes
it is wheat. Sometimes, I meet
my family at Outback Steakhouse,
and we get these little
loaves of bread, and they keep
them coming, because I get my
daily dose of oven-loving from
my dad. His mother, my sweet
grandmother Nolia Stapleton
had bread at every meal. My
grandpa Earl, would tease her
because she would sometimes
be so busy with the six other
courses, the bread would be
the last thing coming out, and
she would burn it. She served
it anyway. And to hear them too
fuss amongst each other so lovingly,
would have my older sister
and I in stitches.
These two people were very
infl uential in my life as a child,
but they have been even more so
in my adult life. They have been
gone from this life for many years
now. My grandfather passed
in 1984, and my grandmother
in 2000, but their influence has
grown stronger, the older I have
gotten. Especially when it comes
to my understanding of faith, and
how essential faith and works
are to a life with Christ. For without
it– without the unselfi shness
of the heart, and without faith
driven by working for God, faith
can not grow, and God’s grace
cannot spill forth onto a heart.
Grace changes everything,
and grace is everything. Grace
changes souls of faith who work
to be saved.
1 CORINTHIANS 15:10
“But by the grace of God I am
what I am: and his grace which
was bestowed upon me was
not in vain; but I laboured more
abundantly than they all: yet not
I, but the grace of God which
was with me. “
Grace changes sinners into
souls who work to know the

Lord, who yearn to feel the love
of God, and who come to know
the sacrifi ce of God. Once a
sinner and a Christian become
acquainted with the grace of
God, they will both work for
HIM. Yes, I said, they will both
work for HIM, for the result is the
same. Until works are done by
either or both through faith, then
the works are considered works
of sin. Neither is any more for
God, without faith. The church
goer and the murderer are one
in the same, until faith and works
are one in the same. Until that
person, regardless of status in
society, walks onto the edge of
faith, and realizes by grace he
has been saved, and not by any
other measure of his own, his
attendance at church, his accordance
as a pillar in society or his
love for others will only keep him
connected through faith.
Grace fl ows through faith, the
way blood fl ows through our
veins, and grace transforms
our lives. Grace does change
us. To recall the strengths of
my own works, I felt worthless,
tired, and never so lost. For with
the strengths, I also felt the failures.
In Christ, we receive God’s
grace through our faith and we
become HIS work of art to do His
good works. God has saved us
to serve and to receive HIS love
and grace. This grace can not be
earned or rewarded.
Ephesians 2:8-10
“For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should
boast. For we are His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared
beforehand that we should walk
in them.”
Grace is truly, amazing and the
works for faith, makes us feel,
alive! I have never felt more
alive, than standing in the light of
the Lord. It reminds me of standing
in the hallway, and watching
the light over those children in
the picture. I remember vividly
asking my grandfather, “Papaw,
where is that light coming from?”
He asked which light I meant.
I asked him once again, “That
light that is coming from behind
the angel in that picture.” He just
laughed, and said, “You’re so
smart.” It’s coming from heaven,
where we will all be at some
day, walking the streets of gold.
I just smiled, and asked, “Is it the
gold that makes it light up?” He
smiled and said, “Naw, baby that
is God smiling down on us, and
one day when I am gone, that
will be me smiling down on you.”
I still remember that after all of
these years. I have yearned to
live by the beach for all of my
days and my family still thinks I
am crazy. They say, “You always
say that.” They don’t realize
every time the sun shines down
on me; the bright light from the
sky, is a reminder of those gone
ahead, especially my grandfather,
smiling down from heaven.
It may not be much to them, but
it is everything to me. It is the
light shining behind the angel in
a similar picture, that now hangs
on the wall in my hall as it did in

MUSIC SPOTLIGHT
Body of Christ
By:
Saviela Edwards Thorne
The highly anticipated compilation
album “Let’s Go In” was
released on April 8th, 2016! It
features Nathan Mellix of Charlotte,
North Carolina, Michael
Durant of Brooklyn, New York
and Nicole White of Myrtle
Beach, South Carolina. BOC
Music hosted an album release
concert was held on Friday,
April 8, 2016 at Ground Zero
in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
With over 530 people in
attendance from all over the US,
this concert was defi nitely one
that many will never forget. I
was there to witness this amazing
concert and I must say this
group has so much to offer to the
Christian Industry. The album is
full of praise and worship with
a very diverse feel! They are a
breath of fresh air with all new
music its one set to impress!
I had an opportunity to sit down
with a few members of the Christian
Rap side of the BOC record
label, who actually performed
that day: Myles “P” Payton,
Corddaro “CORD” Brown and
Cedric “Well Ced” White and DJ
Larry J (Larry Thorne Jr.)

Tell us a little about BOC and
how it was formed.
Well Ced: BOC stands for Body
of Christ. It started out as a vision
and thought. We felt in our spirit
that we were hearing from the
Lord and desired to bring Christian
music into the industry that
we could relate to. God allowed
us to meet and network with a
lot of people and as a result we
started to come together. God
formed this and God gets all the
glory.
Tonight, April 8, 2016, is the
release of the Lets Go In Album
and You will also be performing
songs from your album, Delayed
but not Denied that was recently
released as well. Tell us what
the story behind both albums.
CORD: Delayed but Not Denied
was released in Feb, 2016 this
project was a refl ection of our
year in 2015. It was a rough
year for us as we experienced
alot throughout that year. We
obtained a distribution deal with
Sony Red that went sour. We
also had several deaths within
our families. But God remained
faithful through it all as we
stayed on the course. We were
able to come up with the album,
Delayed but Not Denied and it
has been a success. We were
able to tell our whole story of
what happened with the distribution
deal and the deaths within
our families and the testing of
our faith through the trials.
Myles P: Let’s Go In a compilation
CD with music from Nicole
White, Nathan Melix and Michael
Durant It doesn’t matter where
you are and what your situation
is, you can always worship the
Lord. It’s just pure worship.
Nicole White is actually the
wife of Well Ced and Nathan
Mellix is his brother in law and
Michael Durant is your best
friend. So what is it like working
and producing music with
your family?
Well Ced: That’s a great question.
There are great times and
then there are diffi cult times. The

eality is we are building a relationship
so we understand each
other when times get rocky. You
confront with an intent to reconcile.
We are confronting situation
and taking constructive
criticism but the end goal is to
bring together the most professional
and most anointed project
to glorify God.
Well Ced, How do you balance
being a husband and father
of 3, and being CEO of your
own record label with 2 different
genres of music (Christian
Rap and Praise and Worship)?
Well Ced: Its actually very easy,
I like everything I am doing. Its
time consuming but we enjoy
the fact that we get to come
together and that we have
known each other for years.
Myles P is my fi rst cousin and
Cord and myself go way back.
Nicole, Nathan and Michael, we
have all been working together
for a long time so we understand
each one another. The relationships
we build allow us to work
well together. They build relationships
on their side and we
build relationships on our Christian
Rap side and we all come
together and make it happen.
It’s a lot to balance but God gets
all the glory and he gives me the
strength.
Any Last Thoughts you would
like to share with our readers?
CORD: God is about to move
in a mighty way. We are glad to
be in this platform again with my
brothers to worship the Lord and
knowing everything is genuine.
Myles P: I just want to take this
time to give a shout out to my
fi rst cousin and mentor without
him, none of this would be possible.
It’s a blessing and I am
just overwhelmed to see all this
and to be a part of this.
Well Ced: God is good I want to
thank the Lord, my parents and
my pastor they have all poured
into me and to into us. It has truly
been a blessing to have everyone
come together from all over
and support us. The Bible says
when men dwell together in unity
God commands a blessing that
only God can do. God Bless
you all! BOC for Life –AGTG (All
Glory to God)
Let’s Go In Album – Lead Singers
Exclusive Interview
Nicole White, Nathan Mellix and
Michael Durant
http://youtu.be/jVHsuIcFd04
Special thanks to the BOC family
and friends and especially to the
back ground concert singers:
CaTia Mack, Stephanie Mack,
Kerese Clarke, Meagan Bunner,
Meshun Crosby and Kevin
Slusser and the show stopping
band members: Sonny Fordham
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PLEASE...
Let My Prayers be Answered!
By Catherine Spada
As we seek to follow Christ while living in this
world we are constantly being challenged. It
is a continual battle against fl esh and spirit,
one of surrendering our own will into the hands of
our Heavenly Father. We can experience this tension
in an even greater capacity when we feel that
our prayers are going unanswered.
This struggle is eased by the greatness of our
faith, yet to a degree the diffi culty never evades
us, it reminds us daily, that to walk with Christ is
to deny ourselves by taking up our cross and following
him (Matthew 6:24). It allows us remember
the promise of eternal life.
So often our prayer life can ebb and fl ow between
the sorrowful cross and a sense of resurrected
joy. We may offer thanksgiving and place our
petitions before the Lord, trusting by faith that
He does hear us, “And we know that in all things
God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose
“(Romans 8:28). In the thick of our diffi culty, in the
moments of fog and cloudiness of unanswered
prayers do we still believe this? When our prayers
seem unanswered are we too chalk ourselves up
as not being faithful enough? Of not being a “good
Christian”?
This seeming desolation is a time for us to reaffi rm
our Father’s will and our trust in God. It is a time
for us to look into ourselves and surrender even
more to the will of the Lord. To have the words
“Thy will be done” prayed with authenticity we
need to know what it is to wrestle with our own will.

Sometimes, it may seem that the
very thing we desire most is not
answered. We must recognize
that while we are passing judgment
on God and the fruitfulness
of our prayers we may indeed
miss the blessing, the grace,
and the answered prayer before
us. Especially in moments of suffering
we battle with accepting
that God’s permitting will and His
answer to us is not the one that
we may have asked for. In these
times, as believers, we must
hope and trust that whatever it
is we are going through we are
being provided for. Paul reminds
us in his letter to the Romans
that we are to “be joyful in hope,
patient in affl iction, faithful in
prayer” (Romans 12:12).
To love God is to embrace what
He gives and what he permits to
happen to us with love. These
moments of affliction along the
journey allow us to build virtue.
They allow for us to recognize
our need for growth, for purifi -
cation, for more love, and ultimately
show us how much more
we need Christ.
Our Lord did not promise us
a fl ight from the human reality
of life and disappointments,
He offers us a profound way
of living within it. The choice is
ours. Through the gift of faith we
are given a supernatural gift to
embrace the physical reality of
this world. Much of what we face
is seemingly unbearable and
often confusing to understand.
The strength to carry our burdens,
to accept what we may not
comprehend, and to embrace
all things comes from a relationship
with Jesus Christ. This fi rst
requires love, faith, and prayer.
As we spend time in prayer with
our Lord and our brothers and
sisters in Christ, we quickly come
to realize that the path toward
holiness was not a leisure fi lled
Sunday afternoon, but a journey
fi lled with unimaginable tribulation.
Let us leave our prayers in the
hands of the Lord and trust fully
in His answer. Let us not pray
with the intent of our own wants
being fulfi lled, but rather let our
prayers be known to the Lord
and give Him full control.
Consistently pray with an open
heart and be assured that every
prayer is indeed fruitful, even
if an answer is not seen right
away; even if it is not an answer
you hoped for. Let us learn to
continually turn to God in prayer,
remaining in hope, and fi nd comfort
in His Word and promise(s)
to us. “For I know the plans I
have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to
harm you, plans to give you hope
and a future.” (Jeremiah 11:29)
Catherine Spada is a Public
Middle School educator and
is currently loving her new role
as a full-time mom. She enjoys
giving presentations and sharing
the beauty of the faith. Catherine
resides outside of Toronto with
her husband and beautiful baby
girl.

THE
Aetherlight
Chronicles of the
Resistance
By Vernita Simmons
Welcome Worldbuilder Tim Cleary of Scarlet
City Studios, it is a delight to have you take
time from your busy schedule to be interviewed
for Faith Filled Family. Now, Scarlet City Studios
was established in 2012 to bring about change
in people lives and culture through storytelling.
There is an offi ce in both Auckland, NZ and Nashville,
TN, USA. The team also consists of Carl
Becker, Paul Abrahams and Brook Warner. And
a host of designers, consultants, administrators,
artists, writers and developers.
Now, you have been writing all your life which
started when you forged your report card at the
tender age of 7. And I agree, as a former Substitute
Teacher, that it does take much skill (Laughing).
And you were captured by the power of C. S.
Lewis’s Narnia work.
Now, tell us more about you. Who is Tim Cleary
and what role did you play in the design of
the game? What inspired you to be part of this
majestic creation?
We’re all storytellers, I just happened to have
been practicing a long time! And I’d like to take
this opportunity to apologize to all of my teachers!
I grew up in church—can’t say I was truly captured
by the stories there. I was more excited about the
stories that came out of mainstream culture like
Robin Hood, etc. However after experiencing
Narnia—I discovered without realizing it, allegory.
I started seeing the characteristics of Jesus running
through many of culture’s stories.
As a youth pastor, I further embraced Story and the

assets to another not for profi t. In an incredibly
brave move, they chose to iterate Kids in the 21st
century are online. They are playing games. They
are engaging in community through games, being
entertained through games and even, dare I say
it, learning through games. Who’d have thought!!!
I see that it’s created for “tweens.” Tell us,
exactly what spiritual lessons will be learned?
And how is this game different from secular
games?
Tweens need an epic story to live their life out
of. Humanity is motivated by causes, and when
we are not living for a cause, we usually fi nd ourselves
binge eating or watching Netfl ix for hours
at a time.
context of contemporary culture—often preaching
out of the top 40 hits on the radio.
Eventually however, God drew me into the story
of Scarlet City - where I serve as Worldbuilder.
Creating the world, characters, locations and
meta-story that form the baseline for the artists,
game designers and developers to iterate and
create upon.
Memory verses aren’t epic stories to live out of—
neither are bit pieces of stories taken from the
Bible, and these are often used out of context.
What tweens need to realize is that they’ve been
freed in a galaxy disrupting, time splitting encounter
with God and are invited to live out of that
story. A story that sees God create—Humanity
rebel and God, in His rich mercy save humanity
once again, sacrifi cing His son. And if that wasn’t
enough, God asks them to join His family and be
His redemptive agents on earth.
The spiritual lessons learnt will be to acknowl-
Give us some details about Scarlet City Studios
and the brilliant team that forged this
company. How did it become into existence
and how long has the team been creating such
inspirational games?
It all began 70+ years ago as a trust committed to
using the postal system to reach kids, especially
those in rural communities with the Gospel. It
served New Zealand and the world through wars,
economics booms and downturns. However, in
the 21st century mail has become somewhat antiquated.
Kids no longer play between the letterbox and the
front door--they now play online, and so the trust
was faced with the need to iterate or sell up their

edge that story, know it and align your life with it in
a way that lives out a resistance both in the game
and here on earth.
Now, the game is centered in the city of Aethasia.
Tell us about the world of Aethasia. In what
way is it similar to The Chronicles of Narnia?
In Narnia, there are Fawns and Centaurs and
magical trees… What type of characters will
the tween expect to see?
Aethasia is a fantastical Victorian steampunk
world - which feels, I guess a little more familiar
than the Fauns and Naiads of Narnia. Everyone
is human unless they’re clockwork robots, and it’s
a snapshot in history being Victorian. Only difference
is that the power source of steam has been
taken to the extreme. Airships rule the skies, and
steam powers almost everything! It’s quirky, fun,
and doesn’t take itself too seriously as a world.
Explain the role of the Resistance Academy in
relation to teaching biblical principles to our
youth? How can they incorporate such into
their daily lives?
The Resistance Academy App will make the connections
for Families between the biblical narrative
and the experience the players have been having
through the Aethasian story within the game. It is
full of learning engines and other engaging tools,
all incentivized through the game to excite a love
for the Scriptures in players!
When does the game launch? How can parents
purchase these games for their tweens?
Is this a game that parents can engage in playing
with their children?
The game launches on the 3rd of May with Episode
#1: The Birth of the Resistance being
released. We want parents to be involved! They
will get regular emails regarding what players are
up to in the game and how that links to the story
of Scripture. Swell as this, we have a YouVersion
reading plan that parents can do in tandem with
their kids in order to engage on an even deeper
level. As a parent myself, I am pretty excited
about it! Simply head to www.theaetherlight.com
and purchase Episode #1, or fi nd us on the App
Store or Google Play.
Contact me at tim@theaetherlight.com.
Thank you so much Tim Cleary for taking time
from your schedule to be interviewed by Faith
Filled Family Magazine. It was a delight speaking
to you. Your courtesy and professionalism is
greatly appreciated. And I highly recommend the
adventurous game, The Aetherlight – Chronicles
of the Resistance which will provide a spiritual
means through which the “tweens” learn that they
can join the family of God and be His redemptive
agents on earth. And a shout- out to Maureen
Hoganson for facilitating this interview and
making sure everything needed was provided
and executed on time. God bless the work of your
hands and Tim and the entire team at Scarlet City
Studios.
Vernita “Neat” Simmons ~ Author of “Capturing
The Spirit Of God’s Word with Vernita.” God’s
Word ~ My Voice to encourage, inspire and
empower others that they’re valuable and greatness
lies within, their past is over. God created
them to THRIVE! Vernita resides in southwest
Florida with her daughter and three grandchildren
who keeps her vibrant and exuberant.
Website: http://vsworshiper7.wix.com/godwordsmyvoice87
Vernita’sBookStore:http://vssorshiper7.wix.com/
godwordsmyvoice87#!online-store-/pub2j/
Facebook Page: www.Facebook.com/gloriousworshiper78
How can you and any team member be contacted?

God’s Delays
Are Not Always Denials
By Julie Merrin
A teenager stands in front of a
vending machine. He looks over
the selection of junk foodvand
fi nally settles on the item he
wants. He slips four quarters
into the slot. He punches in D5
to make his selection and…
Voila!... his snack drops to the
bottom of the machine ready to
assuage his hunger.
Wouldn’t it be nice if answers
to prayer came so easily? We
decide on something we want,
punch in the right code and…
Voila!...the answer we desire
appears almost instantly.
Of course, life seldom works
that way. We know that from
experience. Sometimes, we can
identify why our prayers were
not answered in our way in our
time. Other times, the answer is
a bit more elusive.
Why is it that some of our prayers
seem to go unanswered? Why
are some answers delayed?
Perhaps most important of all,
what are we as believers to do
while in waiting mode?
Let’s look briefl y at a few of the
common, most easily understood
reasons that prayers might go
unanswered.
Reasons within us
As human beings, we don’t like
to admit that sometimes, things
go wrong because we messed
up. Thus, when something
isn’t working out as we want
it to, we might choose to look
at everything else but our own
actions to fi nd the culprit.
In truth, though, sometimes, we
ourselves are the cause of the
delay. It is a no-brainer, perhaps,
that willful, outright sin on our part
can hinder answers to prayer. It
is not diffi cult to understand that
a man who is having an affair
cannot expect his prayers for a
more peaceful life at home to be
answered. A woman struggling
with obesity can pray that God

will help her be more healthy,
but as long as she continues to
indulge her daily super-sized hot
fudge sundae habit, answers to
her prayer will be slow in coming.
There are other, less obvious
ways we can sabotage answers
to our prayers. For one thing,
Peter tells us that our attitudes
toward others can hinder our
prayers. This is what he says in
1 Peter 3:7.
“Husbands, in the same way
be considerate as you live with
your wives, and treat them with
respect as the weaker partner
and as heirs with you of the
gracious gift of life, so that
nothing will hinder your prayers.”
This instruction was given to
husbands in regards to their
treatment of their wives, but
the principle applies to all
relationships.
Jesus Himself tells us this in
Matthew 5:23-25 (NIV).
“Therefore, if you are offering
your gift at the altar and there
remember that your brother or
sister has something against
you, 24 leave your gift there in
front of the altar. First go and be
reconciled to them; then come
and offer your gift.
True, this is talking about bringing
our gift to God more than about
prayer, but as bringing the gift
is one side of a relationship
between people and God, it is
not a far stretch see that when
relations with our brothers and
sisters are disturbed, so is our
relationship with God, the only
One Who can answer prayer.
Jesus tells us to reconcile broken
relationships fi rst and come to
Him with a clear heart. So yes,
unforgiveness toward another,
or failing to deal with areas
where we have offended others
can hinder our prayers.
Of course, unbelief can hinder,
delay, even outright deny us the
answers God may have intended
for us. We can see this clearly in
the case of the Israelites after
they left Egypt. You can read
the account in Numbers 13 and
14 of the twelve spies sent into
the land of Canaan. Ten of them
brought back a bad report. Oh,
the land was good, but they
couldn’t possibly lay claim to it.
Only two of the twelve looked
at God and put their trust in
His promises. The people went
along with the unbelieving spies
and lost their chance to enter
the Promised Land themselves.
Their children had to wait forty
years to see the answer to their
prayers.
Sometimes, answers to our
prayers do not come because
what we are asking is outside of
God’s will.
James 4:3 says “When you ask,
you do not receive, because you
ask with wrong motives, that you
may spend what you get on your
pleasures.”
In John 14:12-14, Jesus tells us
that the key to being guaranteed
answers to our prayers is to ask
in His name.
“Very truly I tell you, whoever
believes in me will do the works
I have been doing, and they
will do even greater things than
these, because I am going to the
Father. 13 And I will do whatever
you ask in my name, so that the
Father may be glorified in the
Son. 14 You may ask me for
anything in my name, and I will
do it.”
This asking in Jesus’s name
means far more than adding a
tag line “In Jesus’s name, Amen”
to our prayers. It means taking
time in relationship with Jesus,
even as Jesus took time in
relationship with His Father so
He knew…really knew…what
His Father’s will was. Often,
our prayers are not answered
because we are asking merely
for what we want rather than
what God wants.
These are just a few examples
of how we can bring about
delays to answered prayer. Not
all delays, however, are brought
about by our own actions.
Sometimes, we are absolutely
clear that the direction we are
heading is within God’s will. We
have examined our hearts and
we are certain that no willful sin
is in the way. We are willing to
follow wherever God leads, and
yet we are mystifi ed by the delay
in answered prayer.
Incomprehensible delays
Let’s look at a couple biblical
examples of people who were
in line with God’s plan. They
had a desire to go where God
led them, yet found themselves
delayed for reasons they did not
understand.
Consider Moses. He had
experienced his soul-shaking
encounter with God at the burning
bush. After much wrestling with
fear over his own inadequacies,
he came away with a heart

that was surrendered to God’s
will and purpose. He had been
promised that God would set His
people free from slavery, and
that God was going to use him,
of all people, to accomplish this.
Laying hold of this promise, he
set out to carry out God’s plan.
Moses met up with his brother
Aaron and, at God’s instruction,
they approached Pharaoh and
set forth God’s demand. “LET MY
PEOPLE GO!” Perhaps Moses
expected the ground to shake
and lightning to fl ash. Perhaps
he thought Pharaoh would fall
on his face in submission and
give the command to allow
the slaves to go free. None of
those things happened. Instead,
Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.
Far from walking free that day,
the Hebrew slaves found their
workload increased to the point
it was impossible to accomplish.
It is not hard to imagine Moses
and Aaron’s grief, dismay, and
confusion as they left Pharaoh’s
palace that day. The suffering
of their people was greatly
increased that day, and to all
appearances, it was Moses’s
fault. Why was God’s answer
delayed? Moses did not know.
Yet he believed. You can fi nd
the account of these events
and what followed in the Old
Testament book of Exodus.
In the New Testament. the
Apostle Paul and his co-worker
Silas journeyed toward Asia in
obedience to Jesus’s command
to “go and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you
always, to the very end of the
age.” Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)
They had committed themselves
to the commission Jesus had
given His followers. They
believed His promise that He
would always be with them.
They looked beyond Jerusalem
and Judea to the ends of the
earth. They had a passion to
make disciples of all nations.
They were on track with God,
and their hearts were right. Yet,
the plans they made to go into
Asia were delayed.
In Acts 16:6-7 (NIV), we read:
Paul and his companions
traveled throughout the region
of Phrygia and Galatia, having
been kept by the Holy Spirit
from preaching the word in the
province of Asia. 7 When they
came to the border of Mysia,
they tried to enter Bithynia, but
the Spirit of Jesus would not
allow them to.
They must have wondered
why. At least, they must have
wondered until God opened up
another door of opportunity in
Macedonia – a door they would
not have been able to go through
so readily had they already gone
to one of the other areas that
had been in their plan.
We have looked at two biblical
examples, but there are others.
In fact, the entire Old Testament
looks forward to the ultimate
promise of the coming of Jesus.
Some of the Old Testament
characters lived faithfully for
God. Others did not. Yet, even
the faithful ones had to wait
for their prayers for the coming
Messiah, Jesus, to be answered.
I our time, we still experience
times when our prayers are
delayed, and we are puzzled to
understand why. That delay may
not have the biblical proportion
of the Exodus account. It may
not have the far-reaching
implications of Paul’s missionary
journeys. The principle, however,
is still the same.
I have experienced this kind of
delay several times in my life.
One was when I was preparing to
launch into ministry in Southeast
Asia. I had to raise my own
support. A certain amount had
been pledged, and then pledges
stopped far short of the projected
budget. What was going on? I
was certain God had called me
to leave my home and go to
that new location. Why did the
needed pledges not come in? To
make a long story short, I ended
up going to Southeast Asia at
80% of a cut budget…and found
that what God had provided was
more than enough. My prayers
were answered. They were not
answered in the time or manner
I expected, but in a way that was
far better.
The adoption of my daughter was
another example of a time when
I was certain I was following
God’s plan in choosing to adopt
her. Yet it took nearly two years
before I saw the answer to prayer
and held the adoption decree. It
was two years during which the
question was almost constantly
on my mind. “Why God? Why
is this so hard? Why hasn’t it
happened yet? Why?”
Why the delay?

The fact of the matter is that
we may not always know why.
We may not ever know why
this side of heaven. God is
under no obligation to tell us the
reasons why He doesn’t give His
promised answer as quickly as
we would like, or in the way we
expect.
Even so, we can see in a number
of biblical examples a few of the
reasons.
In Galatians 4:4a, we read “But
when the set time had fully come,
God sent his Son,..” (NIV) There
was a time chosen by God when
He was ready to set in motion
His plan of sending Jesus into
the world. Many generations
had come and gone since the
promise of the Messiah was fi rst
given. During that time, many
people had failed to even look
expectantly for the fulfillment of
the promise. Others, though, did
anticipate the Messiah’s coming
and kept in step with the program.
This doesn’t mean they were
perfect, but their hearts were in
tune with the plan. You can read
about some of them in the Faith
Hall of Fame found in Hebrews
11. As they found, sometimes
the desired answer awaits the
right time.
Sometimes, there is a delay in
the ultimate answer because
there is something God wants
us to learn along the way. The
Hebrew slaves had lived for
generations among a nation
that did not worship the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
They saw idols every day –
idols that represented gods
that supposedly had control
over various aspects of life. As
they awaited their freedom from
slavery, they witnessed the ten
plagues that devastated the land
of Egypt. They witnessed God’s
power over all those little “gods”,
as well as His ability to protect
His own people. This was a vital
lesson for them to learn before
they ventured out of Egypt into
freedom for the fi rst time in
generations.
From the two examples in
my own life, as I awaited the
ultimate promised answer
to prayer, I learned much
about God’s provision, about
perseverance, about trust, and
about maintaining a respectful
attitude in the face of opposition.
These lessons, I might not have
learned so well if the answer had
come swiftly.
Finally, the delay might come
because God has a greater
purpose in mind. Consider
the account of the raising of
Lazarus in John 11. Mary and
Martha, the sisters of Lazarus
had sent word to Jesus that their
brother was sick. In a sense, this
sending word to Jesus was a
kind of prayer. Jesus did not go
to his friend right away. In fact,
he waited for two days until he
knew Lazarus was dead. Then
he made the journey to Bethany.
Note the words of Jesus to his
disciples.
“This sickness will not end in
death. No, it is for God’s glory so
that God’s Son may be glorifi ed
through it…. “Lazarus is dead,
and for your sake I am glad I
was not there, so that you may
believe. But let us go to him.”
John 11:4, 14b-15(NIV)
God had a greater purpose. Mary,
Martha, Lazarus, and those who
witnessed Lazarus coming out of
the tomb alive were privileged to
see the fulfi llment of that greater
purpose. We may not always
see the purpose in the delays
we experience, but we can rest
assured that God can.
Then there is the ultimate
example of the bigger plan.
Consider Jesus Himself, praying
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
He knows the cross is ahead
of him. He knows that the
fulfi llment of the plan made in
heaven to bring lost people back
to God hinges on him enduring
the cross. As God, He knows
what must be done. As a man,
the prospect of such terrible
suffering is horrifying. We fi nd
this account in Matthew 26:39,
42. In agony, Jesus prays, “My
Father, if it is possible, may this
cup be taken from me. Yet not as
I will, but as you will.” After fi nding
his disciples sleeping, Jesus
goes back to his place of prayer
and makes this commitment,
“My Father, if it is not possible for
this cup to be taken away unless
I drink it, may your will be done.”
Jesus did not only experience a
delay in the hoped-for answer.
The answer He received was a
gentle, “No Son.” And Jesus, with
his heart and will in line with His
Father’s will, went to the cross
to accomplish God’s greater
purpose. He did not expend time
asking “Why?”
The Greater Question – Not
“Why?” but “What?”
So what are we to do when
answers to our prayers are
delayed? In light of the fact that
none of us are perfect, it is wise
to give serious consideration to
the possibility that there may be

something in our own actions,
attitudes or motivations that
need to be brought back in line
with God. If we ask the Holy
Spirit to reveal any such things,
He will. This is the fi rst “What?”
What in my own life needs to be
brought in line so my prayers are
not hindered?
If, however, the Holy Spirit does
not reveal any fault in us, and we
can say with a clear conscience
that we are living in line with
God’s will, we can ask the
second “What?” What do You
want me to learn as I await Your
answer? Ask the question, and
commit yourself to learning the
lesson well.
Always remember that in times
such as these, when answers
to prayer appear to be delayed,
you will be in the middle of a
battle. This is the third “What?”
What preparations do I need to
make as I wait? Spiritual armor
is a necessity.
Therefore put on the full armor of
God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand
your ground, and after you have
done everything, to stand. Stand
fi rm then, with the belt of truth
buckled around your waist, with
the breastplate of righteousness
in place, and with your feet fi tted
with the readiness that comes
from the gospel of peace. In
addition to all this, take up the
shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the fl aming arrows
of the evil one. Take the helmet
of salvation and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6:13-17 (NIV)
If you know that you are saved,
that you are living a righteous
life, that you are ready to move
out in obedience to God, and
you have all this fi rmly buckled
about you with an understanding
of the truth, then you are ready.
You are ready to take up the
shield of faith and the sword of
the Spirit, and fi ght the battle as
long as it takes.
Then, there is fi nal “What?” What
is Your greater purpose in this
delay, Lord? I may not ever see it
in my lifetime, but help me, Lord,
to stand fi rm on your promise
even when I do not understand.
Help me, Father, so after I have
done everything, that I will still

nced
ew with
nnedy Dean
By Clive McLaren
Jennifer Kennedy Dean with
her late husband Wayne
Dean formed The Praying
Life Foundation http://www.prayinglife.org/
in 1990 to provide a
ministry framework for the message
they felt called to invest
their lives in and wanting to offer
resources to the body of Christ
to help develop mature intercessors.
She is the Executive Director of
PLF and a respected author of
numerous books, studies, and
magazine articles specializing in
prayer and spiritual growth. Her
book, ‘Heart’s Cry’, has been
named National Day of Prayer’s
recommended resource. Her
book, ‘Live a Praying Life®’, and
has been called a fl agship work
on prayer.
Widely recognized as an unusually
gifted communicator of the
deep truths of God’s Word, Jennifer
speaks all over the world
calling God’s people to discover
the difference between “a prayer
life” and “a praying life.”
Jennifer was widowed in 2005
after 26 years of marriage to
Wayne Dean, her partner both
in life and ministry. They are the
parents of three grown sons.
Jennifer makes her home in
Marion, Kentucky.
Jennifer is National Prayer
Director and board member for
Christian Women in Media, Kentucky
State Director for United
States National Prayer Council,
a member of Advanced Writers
and Speakers Association, and
a member of America’s National
Prayer Committee (National Day
of Prayer), and an advisory board
member for Women’s Prayer
International. She is also host of
The Praying Life Minute and the
podcast Praying Life Live.
As I read ‘Synced’ I realised this
book was full of biblical wisdom
and practical applications many
of us need to rethink our attitudes
to praying. Using Jesus
as the best person to learn from
with the way He spent real time
with His Dad, listened to and
worshipped Him, then went out
and did what He knew would
honor God, I was challenged
to see prayer as so much more
than I have in the past. Jennifer
responds to my questions
the way she writes; full of faith
and clarity, I hope you enjoy her
answers as much as I do.

What do you mean by “living
synced”?
On earth, Jesus lived a lived a
life so attuned to the Father that it
can only be described as living in
sync. The secret to Jesus’ life of
power lies in this: His heart was
perfectly synced to the Father’s.
He had neither action nor interest
that was separate from the
Father’s. “The Son can do nothing
by himself; he can do only
what he sees his Father doing,
because whatever the Father
does the Son also does. For the
Father loves the Son and shows
him all he does” (John 5:19–20).
I noticed an echo of language
between Jesus’ description of
His relationship to the Father,
and His relationship to us, His
disciples. I am convinced that
Jesus is telling us that we can
lived synced to His heart just as
He lived synced to the Father’s
heart.
Jesus’ Relationship to the
Father Our Relationship to
Jesus:
“The Son can do nothing by himself”
(John 5:19)
“Apart from me you can do nothing”
(John 15:5)
“The Father … shows him all he
does” (John 5:20)
“I . . . will . . . show myself to him”
(John 14:21)
“I am in the Father, and . .
. the Father is in me” (John
14:10)
“If a man remains in me and I in
him” (John 15:5)
“The Son may bring glory to the
Father” (John 14:13)
“Glory has come to me through
them” (John 17:10)
“Just as the Father knows me
and I know the Father” (John
10:15)
“I know my sheep and my sheep
know me” (John 10:14)
When you are living synced,
you just fi nd yourself in the right
place at the right time with the
right resources. You fi nd yourself
walking out that which God has
assigned and prepared you to
do. (Ephesians 2:10) God’s will
fi nds you as you go.
How has your life and ministry
experience taught you the
importance of living synced?
Life is all about being in the fl ow
of God’s power and provision.
That’s how we live in that state
of soul rest Jesus promises.
“Come to Me, all who are weary
and heavy-laden, and I will give
you rest. Take My yoke upon
you and learn from Me, for I am
gentle and humble in heart, and
you will fi nd rest for your souls”
(Matthew 11:28-29 NASB).
Jesus promises that when we
learn from Him, when we learn
His secret for living synced, we
will have learned to live at rest.
When you know that the heart of
Jesus is communicating directly
to your heart, you don’t have to
strain and worry and wonder if
you’re where you are supposed
to be. Living synced means that
ministry is just His expression
through you. Life is His activity in
your circumstances.
The spiritual realm is as much
part of our daily living as is the
material realm. Because of
the indwelling, present Jesus,
we have immediate and direct
access to the spiritual realm
and all the power and provision
it holds. Jesus is the open door
from earth to heaven. When we
lived synced to Him, heaven’s
power is available for earth’s circumstances.

You have published numerous
books, devotionals and blogs
about prayer; how is this one
different from your previous
writings?
Since the beginning of my ministry,
for several decades now,
I have been learning and then
teaching about the difference
between a prayer life and a praying
life. My foundational message
has been, and continues to
be, how to live a praying life®.
How to live in the fl ow of God’s
power and provision and to see
His work unfold as you walk out
your life. It is the grid through
which I have come to view life.
It has been so transformative for
me that I have spent all my adult
life sharing the concept with
others. I still remember when the
phrase came to me and recalibrated
everything in my understanding.
Not “have a prayer
life,” but “live a praying life.”
The concept of living synced is
another way to understand how
to live a praying life. The idea is
to see the connection between
prayer and power. In my own
life, as I replaced the thought
of saying prayers—sandwiching
words between “Dear God”
and “Amen”—with the awareness
of being in the fl ow of His
power and provision. I expanded
my defi nition of prayer so that it
includes the continual interaction
between the material and
the spiritual realm—sometimes
articulated, but often simply an
inarticulate fl ow between His
heart and mine.
A praying life, then, is fl owing
continually. Prayer is an ongoing
pursuit. Rather than start, stop,
pick up where you left off, you
just learn to live with your heart
synced to His. Yet this praying
life is undergirded and nourished
by daily times of concentrated
prayer. That’s when you
make yourself available to Him
without distraction so that He
can download the content of
His heart into yours and your
hearts can be synchronized.
I wouldn’t say this is different
from my other books, but it is
an expansion of the message. I
keep learning more about how
a praying life works, and this
book continues to unpack the
great adventure of living in a
dynamic, exciting relationship
with the living, present, indwelling,
present-tense Jesus.
The way preachers exhort us to
live a Christian life quoting various
scriptures; it seems that to
‘be perfect as God is perfect’ is
well above the standard many
of us believe we are capable
of achieving. So in reading
‘Synced’ we are challenged
to have a much more radical
approach to living our Christian
life. How then do we re-align
our understanding of doing
God’s will?
Living synced has to do with
meeting the goal, not by harder
work but rather by deeper surrender.
As we sync our hearts
to the indwelling Jesus, He
lives out His life through us
and expresses Himself through
our personalities in our circumstances.
Jesus, in Matthew 5:48, is
quoting from Leviticus 19:2,
and other places where God
issues the same command.
“Be perfect, therefore, as your
heavenly Father is perfect.” The
Greek word in the New Testament
manuscripts is a word
that means to be complete or to
reach the fullness designed for
you. The Hebrew word means to
be set apart for God’s purposes.
So, be perfect does not have to
do solely, or even primarily, with
behaviors. Rather it has to do
with inner attitudes that produce
behaviors. You become holy, or
perfect, by syncing your heart to
the heart of Jesus.
What originates in the Old Testament
as a command, transitions
in the covenant of grace -- in
which Jesus Himself lives in us
-- to a promise. “I promise, you
shall be holy (perfect) because
I am holy (perfect) and I live in
you and am reshaping you from
the inside.”
You say that Jesus’ disciples
recognized a direct correlation
between His life of power and
His life of prayer. What did that
prompt them to ask Him, and
did they become more synced
because of Jesus’ answer?
A praying life is a life lived on
earth in the power of heaven.
The earthly life of Jesus demonstrates
this paradox. The Son of
Man lived every earthly moment
in the power from on high. He
lived a praying life. In Him,
through Him, heaven invaded
earth. His obedient praying life
was the conduit through which
heaven’s power changed earth’s
circumstances. He lived and
moved and had His being (Acts
17:28) in the atmosphere of
the spiritual realm, though He
walked out His life as a man
tethered to earth just like we
are. From the heavenly realms,

He drew His energy and power,
accessed wisdom and insight,
secured peace and joy. He lived
out of heaven’s resources for
the daily demands of earth’s circumstances.
He lived in the fl ow
of God’s power and provision.
The disciples saw this up close.
They knew plenty of formulaic
prayers to say, but they wanted
to know what was different about
Jesus’ praying that manifested
itself in His living. They wanted
to know how to pray like He
prayed. His model prayer with
its index prayers, or its prayer
outline, showed them the gamut
of the topics for prayer, and
nothing of life is left out. Every
need—physical, spiritual, or
social—is covered.
We know the disciples took His
teaching to heart. As the Holy
Spirit came to impart Jesus’ life
to them from the inside, like the
vine’s life through the branch,
they kept learning to live a praying
life. They increased in their
understanding of how to pray
like He prays. We, also, are in
that school of prayer. The more
we grow in prayer by experiencing
prayer’s effects, the more we
know immediately when we are
not living synced. The Holy Spirit
is right there to nudge and cajole
and woo us back into sync with
His heart.
The classic book on prayer
‘Practicing the presence of
God’ by Brother Lawrence,
describes how the author
developed the discipline of
‘praying at all times’ which
radically changed his perception
of God and in enabling
him to be aware of God’s presence
every day. But it seems
that whilst a few ‘special’ men
and women are able to do this,
forming such a deep connection
with God is not possible
with our busy Western lifestyle,
is this true, but if not
why is that?
That book is one of the books
that helped shape my thinking
on prayer early on. That kind of
understanding is the basis for
a praying life, for living synced.
That is exactly how God planned
that we should live. It is not a life
reserved for certain people, but
for all followers. If you think of
prayer as saying words in God’s
direction, then it will be impossible,
but if you realize that it is
living with your heart wide open
toward God, then you will fi nd
the key.
If a praying life is a life open to
God, and if we begin to live with
our spiritual senses alert to the
spiritual realm, it will require a
fully devoted heart. Does it sound
as if God is calling upon you to
live a cloistered life, oblivious to
the many practical demands of
day-to-day living? A praying life
requires no such thing! With the
Holy Spirit as your guide, you will
discover a deeper level of living
and responding. You are always
involved in thinking and feeling,
aren’t you? You will learn to
make God the focal point of your
unceasing thought processes
and fi nd yourself involved in
unceasing prayer. It will become
your soul’s habit to turn every
thought toward God.
Your mind is an amazing creation.
It functions effi ciently on
many levels at once. It is the ultimate
multitasking software. At
one time you may be driving a
car, remembering directions, carrying
on a conversation, retaining
a grocery list in your memory,
observing the time, and on and
on and on. There are mental processes
going on that you are not
even aware of. Consider this:
At one of those levels, prayer
is always going on. This is true
because the Spirit of Christ lives
in you and He is always praying.
Sometimes, prayer is at the
most conscious and aware level
of thought. Other times it is down
a level or two. Once I realized
that, it became easier and more
natural for me to switch back and
forth — to bring prayer back to
the higher awareness level more
often and more spontaneously.
Explain what you mean by
“the intimacy of our.”
In unpacking the Lord’s Prayer
as the anchor points for living
synced, I got caught up in the
word “our.” Much has been written
about the inclusiveness of
teaching our Father, and I agree
that is signifi cant. But I wanted
to camp on another aspect of
“our”. Remember that Jesus is
teaching you and me to say “our
Father.” Who’s included in the
‘our’? Jesus. Jesus is inviting
us into His very own relationship
with the Father. He’s saying,
“My Father and your Father. Our
Father.” He is bringing us into
His circle.
What’s His is yours. He has
opened heaven’s coffers and
made the riches and power of
the spiritual realm available to
us just as His fi rst disciples saw
heaven’s resources available to
Jesus as He walked out life on
earth as a man.
Not only does the intimacy of our
bring you into possession of His

esources, but it also brings you
into the unique communion that
is the experience of the Godhead.
You are pulled into the
circle of love and fellowship that
exists among the Father, Son
and Spirit.
In John 17:23, Jesus says, “:
“Then the world will know that
you sent me and have loved
them just as you have loved
me...” The Father loves you
and me the same way He loves
Jesus. Our Father, says Jesus.
How do we hallow His Name?
To hallow the name of God
involves more than simply to
say it reverently and not to use
it in base ways. It has to do with
more than saying the name. It
primarily has to do with living the
name. This petition is an urgent
plea that God would hallow His
own name; that He would cause
His name to be set apart and
treated reverently by the way
He reveals Himself through His
people. We—His people—are
His self-revelation. He tells His
story through our stories. It has
always been so. The stories in
Scripture are not stories about
people, but rather stories about
God as He reveals Himself in the
lives of people. God is always
the main character, and every
story’s purpose is to reveal God’s
nature and His action in the lives
of His people.
Jesus lived synced to the heart of
the Father, and so revealed the
Father on earth. Jesus offered
His every-minute-of-the-daylife
as the setting in which the
Father could hallow His name.
Jesus said this to His disciples:
“Don’t you believe that I am in
the Father, and that the Father
is in me? The words I say to you
are not just my own. Rather, it is
the Father, living in me, who is
doing his work. Believe me when
I say that I am in the Father
and the Father is in me; or at
least believe on the evidence
of the miracles themselves”
(John 14:10-11). He made the
case time and again that the
works the Father accomplished
through Him were evidence of
the Father. Jesus was not bringing
the spotlight to bear on Himself,
but instead was revealing
the Father. Jesus, synced to the
Father, was the vehicle through
whom the Father worked in the
world. Through Jesus, the Father
hallowed His name.
That’s how it looks to live synced.
Available to Jesus like Jesus
was available to the Father. The
whole tone of your life will be
Him. He will act through you in
ways that can’t be accomplished
by your best efforts or your own
abilities. By Jesus’ life through
us, the Father will hallow His
name.
In living synced, why is it
important to be in His will?
His will for your life, and in every
moment or every situation, is part
of a bigger plan. You can’t isolate
situations and live circumstance
by circumstance. God’s will is
cohesive and is fl owing from
one event to the next. Life’s happenings
are not random, but are
strategically arranged and His
will is tying them all together into
a comprehensive whole. Living
synced will put you smack-dab
in the middle of what God has
arranged and prepared for you.
Those assignments will show up
in your life without you seeking
them out.
When Jesus’ assignments found
Him, they were prepared and set
up in advance. They didn’t come
too early in His ministry, or too
late. Notice how Jesus seemed
to be able to speak great wisdom
and depth off-the-cuff, on the
spur of the moment. Don’t you
think that is because He had
given great thought in prayer to
these things in advance? Not
only are His assignments prepared
for Him, but also He is
prepared for His assignments.
It is the same with us. Synced to
Jesus, He will never call us into
a moment for which He has not
prepared us, and prepared for
us. Our response to His call in
that moment will fl ow naturally.
We won’t have to sweat and
struggle and anguish. All the
pieces come together and dovetail
in an instant and we allow
Him to hallow His name through
us. These assignments are only
occasionally big and dramatic.
Usually, it is just the everyday
interactions and events as we
live our lives in fairly routine
ways. We are always on call.
Do you think that when we say
‘Your will be done’ if we knew
this was actually going to
happen in our lives, we might
not want to allow Him to really
take complete control of our
lives?
I think that if we knew the whole
picture, we would embrace it
every time. If we just knew a
piece of the journey—if we just
had a sliver of the view—we
might draw back. But if we could
see it all the way to the end, we
could see the end from beginning—have
a God’s eye view—
we would rush to surrender.

When you discover the great
truth that prayer activates the
specifi c will of God in a situation,
the thought will be restful only if
you have moved to the place of
willing the will of God. Often we
can have an underlying sense
that God’s will is something we
have to bear up under or settle
for.
God’s will, we think, is
diffi cult and oppressive.
In Romans 12:2, Paul
described God’s will
with three words: good,
pleasing, and perfect.
Greek words used might
be translated “benefi
cial,” “bringing pleasure,”
and “a perfect fi t.”
Only when you come
to know God through
experience—when you
have put His will to the
test and have fi rsthand
understanding that it is
good—can you fi nd rest
and peace in the thought
of His will being done.
But the secret to experiencing
God this way
is that you fi rst have to
obey Him and surrender
to Him in order to put His
will to the test. You have
to take the one step in
front of you. You have to
abandon the old familiar
fl esh-ways.
Many Christians have at times
lived in sync with Jesus and
thereby experienced joy and
peace; yet most of the time
find entering into that place of
a deeply prayerful life is like
trying to catch the wind. What
obstacles do you suggest get
in the way of a believer walking
with Jesus rather than
seemingly trying to catch up
with Him?
I think the main obstacle is thinking
it all depends on you. Or, not
believing that a connected life
is realistic. We don’t realize that
God has designed our brains so
that we can live synced because
He has designed our brains
to operate effi ciently on many
levels at one time. Or we think
that prayer is only happening
when we are saying words in
sentences with nouns and verbs
and modifi ers.
You need to realize how completely
Jesus has given Himself
to you so that He is fully available
to you and can accomplish
in you what He requires of you.
You just have to ask, “Jesus,
teach me what it means to live
synced to you,” and He will do it.
What is the tie-in between
“Your kingdom come” and
‘Your will be done”?
“Your kingdom come, your will be
done, on earth as it is in
heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
These three lines are all
one petition. “Your kingdom
come” and “your
will be done” and “on
earth as it is in heaven’
are three ways of saying
the same thing. This is
a common Hebrew literary
device. Each phrase
adds to the fullness of
understanding, but they
are saying the same
thing in different ways. It
informs us that the kingdom
of God is present
where the will of God
is done. Where the will
of God is done, heaven
has invaded earth and
the kingdom is present.
The kingdom is not
something only for the
future, but is present
right now. When we
examined the heavenly
realms, and saw the
Scripture says the heavenly
realms are available
as our present-tense
reality, we begin to see the kingdom.
The kingdom of God – or
kingdom of heaven—is the spiritual
dimension of our day-to-day
experience, and it is where the
power is.
How does the idea of manna
correlate with the petition to
give us today our daily bread?
Prayer is intended to access

all the provision that God has
for us, and that includes our
physical needs. But the way He
prays this petition gives us much
insight into what it means to live
synced to Jesus’ heart the way
He lived synced to the Father’s
heart.
God created us so that we have
needs. He could have designed
us to be self-suffi cient. He could
have made us so that, for example
like the turtle, we carry shelter
around with us as part of our
makeup. But He made us with
needs. He created us with needs
so that those needs would be
entry points for Him. Our needs
are to drive us to His supply.
God is very focused on keeping
us present in the moment we are
in, instead of worrying into the
future. That’s where fear gets
a foothold. When we try to live
tomorrow today, what God wants
to do today gets lost in the haze
of an unknowable tomorrow.
When Rabbi Jesus spoke to His
Jewish listeners and taught them
to pray for daily bread, what do
you think came to mind? Manna.
Manna was central to their
understanding of God’s special
work in their lives.
Manna was characterized as
“bread (provision) from heaven.”
It was heaven’s supply in earth’s
circumstances. The second
distinguishing characteristic of
manna was that it was enough
for today. Any Israelite who tried
to secure tomorrow’s manna
today, found that it spoiled and
became useless. God is training
His people in His ways. You will
have what you need when you
need it. It is a trust issue. You
can live in anxiety, or you live
at rest. You can know by faith
what you can’t see with your
eyes. In some areas of your life,
for example, fi nances, health or
emotional strength; God is providing
for you using the manna
method. Then somewhere in
your life, you are learning great
and valuable lessons as God
teaches you by manna.
Why is forgiving essential to
living synced?
When we experience forgiveness,
then we are more disposed
to forgive. Receiving forgiveness
is the benefi t we gain from His
death on the cross. We are forgiven
freely and joyfully for every
sin of every kind. In response,
we are to forgive everybody
everything.
Every act of obedience is a step
toward greater freedom. Jesus
said, “When you stand praying,
if you hold anything against
anyone, forgive him” (Mark 11:
25). This is a diffi cult thing to
obey because our sinful nature—
our spiritual genetics-- predisposes
us to hold a grudge or
exact revenge. The command to
forgive everyone for everything
opposes our human nature.
This command to forgive seems
like a heavy burden to bear. It
seems too much to ask. Until you
realize two things. First, it is for
your benefi t. You are not meant
to carry anger and bitterness.
You will break down under its
heft. Second, Jesus will forgive
through you.
Remember, not harder trying,
but deeper surrender.
Refusing to forgive means that
you have chosen your hurt or
anger over the healing Jesus
offers. You have relegated Him
to a corner of your life instead of
welcoming Him into every area.
You must be in the process of
forgiving—and often it is a process—to
fully experience all He
longs for you to know.
And finally is your book going
to be made available as series
of discipleship training?
We will soon have available a
set of on line teaching videos
and downloadable discussion
guides. You will know when this
is available by being on our quarterly
email newsletter which you
will fi nd at www.prayinglife.org.
When it is fi rst released, there
will be a short window during
which you can get it for free and
we will announce that through
the newsletter.
Thank you to Jennifer Kennedy
Dean for such comprehensive
and gracious answers, which
in themselves are a generous
sample of what to expect from
‘Synced’. For our readers who
need to break through shallow
prayer-times and who desire
to walk with Jesus rather than
follow him from a safe distance;
I recommend reading ‘Synced’
then applying its truths in praying
life.
To Purchase Synced,
Please Click Here

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Comfort
IN THE MIDST OF
Tragedy
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN YOUR
FAITH?
By Julie B. Cosgrove
It always seems to happen. We
fi rst hear of a horrid tragedy on
the evening news. It may be a
natural disaster or yet another
suicidal gunman gone amuck.
Death and destruction, doom
and gloom. Then, a day or two
later the “miracle stories” start to
surface on social media and perhaps
as a sidebar right before
a commercial on the nightly
news program. Neighbors going
beyond the norm to help, a live
person or puppy found in the
rubble, a testimony stating how
minutes before the disaster a
person’s car stalled so they
didn’t drive into the moment of
devastation. Then we smile and
say, “Ah, God was there after
all.”
Our faith blares back that of
course He was. God is everywhere,
omnipresent, in the midst
of good and bad. God is our
refuge and strength, an everpresent
help in trouble. (Psalm
46:1) However, when you are the
one in the midst of the trouble,
that idea is not quite as comprehensible.
Doubt creeps in. Why?
Perhaps, like me, you have
heard it said that fear freezes
faith. When something unexpectedly
horrid happens, fear is
our fi rst instinct, is it not? Confusion,
anger, disbelief, and
fi nally acceptance come later.
But the fi rst reaction involves
our hearts pounding out of our
chests, our breathing becoming
shallower, perhaps a wooziness
coming over us. Our minds
cannot accept what our senses
are reporting. All appears surreal,
out of time, fuzzed. Finally
we blink, the brain kicks in and
the desire to fi ght or fl ight takes
over.
After my husband died suddenly
in the shower as he got
ready for work, my world spun.
I recall bits and pieces, snippets
of conversations, but mostly my
brain blocked a good portion of
the following days, week, even
month. I don’t recall ever praying—that
would have been too
deep and I wanted to stay on the
surface where I could go through

the motions. It was the only way I could cope, get
through the funeral, and deal with the fi nality of it
all.
Y
et, looking back, I felt carried on others’ prayers.
People’s love and concerns literally fl oated me
through the events. I have little doubt God was
there each and every moment. He was present in
my sister who dropped her life to hold my hand
since she had gone through the same thing the
year prior. It was my niece who cleaned up the
mess the EMS left behind and moved my toiletries
to the guest bath because she knew I couldn’t
walk into the master bath yet. It was my brother,
the attorney, handling pro bono all the legal stuff I
couldn’t begin to comprehend. My son who fl ew in
and made all the calls to distant friends and relatives
so I didn’t have to do it. Church members
who held my hands and prayed at the hospital
while my husband was declared legally dead and
the machines were unplugged. Tender smiles that
greeted me and a dear lady who sat next to me
the fi rst time I walked into worship without him by
my side. It was the casseroles I couldn’t stomach
and the neighbor who mowed my lawn when I
didn’t even notice the grass had grown up to my
calves. And, most amazingly orchestrated of all
was the fact, in the very short time we’d lived in
that city, widows had become my closest friends.
They formed a safety net for me, ready to catch
me before any of us knew my personal tragedy
would hit.
Yes, God was there. He prepared me. He held
me together. He remained with me. I just couldn’t
“see” Him at the time.
Some people blame God when tragedy happens,
or at least become angry that He did not intervene
to prevent it. When the nonsensical slaps us in the
face, we have to point the fi nger to something or
someone in order to try and absorb the shock. God,
who often is already incomprehensible, seems the
likely target.
Here is the good news—He can handle it. Jesus
told us in Matthew 11:28 to let Him take our burdens
so He can provide us rest. I Peter 5:7 reminds
us to cast all of our anxieties on our Savior. And
that is the key. God wants us to act. Because He
has granted us free will, we must be the ones to
hand it over, lay it at the foot of the cross, and back
off. Christ stands there with hands open, ready to
receive our troubles, hurts, questions and anger. It
is up to us to give them to Him.
When your mind is muddled and you are trudging
through what feels like mental molasses, giving
your worries to God is a diffi cult thing to remember
to do. Instead, we either cling to the situation as
we try to make sense of it, or we shove it as far
from us as possible, refusing to accept it as reality.
Before we can possible hand it over to our Lord to
handle, we have to do four things.
1. First, we must acknowledge it is beyond our
capability.
2. We must be cognitive enough to be able to act.
When fear or tragedy freezes us in our place, often
all we can do is blankly stare as if in zombie mode.
3. We must have the embedded faith to seek out
God—to turn our eyes upon Jesus, as the old
hymn states—even when we can’t feel His presence.
4. Finally we need to take note, and often do in
hindsight, of the ways our Lord reveals Himself—
through others’ kindness, through a verse in a
song, through a cherished memory which warms
the coldness of the situation, through a passage
in Scripture. Perhaps we feel a celestial hug in the
middle of the night when the tears come.
When someone you know faces an unexplainable
tragedy, pray for them, and if possible, with them.
It is hard to be sensitive to the presence of holiness
when one’s world is diffi cult to make sense
of at the moment. Be their spiritual eyes and guide
them, pointing out ways God is present even
though they are walking through an emotional fog.
It may not sink in immediately, but in retrospect,
they will see you were right.
And if you face something horrendous—and odds
are you will because we live in a fallen world—
know that, even though it is probably beyond your
immediate comprehension, God is indeed working
His purpose out. Recall the times you saw evidence
of His actions “behind the scenes” of others’
lives and believe He is doing the same for you. It
is often easier to witness God moving in another’s
life. It is harder to see when it happens to us.

Life happens, and due to our sinful, broken world,
God stands by and lets horrible things occur. If He
didn’t we’d all be puppets on a string. He grants us
the freedom to accept or reject Him. He grants that
to everyone else as well. That doesn’t mean God
doesn’t see, hurt for us, or not desire to guide us
through the hard times. Like a watchful parent, He
hovers close by, ready with the hugs and Band-
Aids when we skin our knees due to our own carelessness.
He is also there when life is unfair with
arms outstretched to comfort us.
Before tragedy hits, build up your spiritual batteries.
We keep our cell phones plugged in so they
don’t run down. Do the same with your faith walk.
Stay in the Word even though you are on top of the
world and all is wonderful. Be cognitive of others’
needs and minster to them in their times of need
and help them see Jesus in it. Write down ways
God has shown Himself to you, and to them, so
when you cannot detect Him, you can turn to the
evidence and reassure yourself of His love.
Psalm 85:13 tells us Righteousness goes before
him and prepares the way for his steps. Believe
that. You may not see around the bend, but our
precious Lord is already there—in the aftermath
of a tornado, as the bullets whiz by a schoolroom,
even as the water in a shower gushes while your
soul mate lies unresponsive on the tile fl oor.

Give me
STRENGTH
By Toni Troxell
You’ve just worked a twelvehour
shift. All you want to do is
go home and collapse. However,
the laundry, kids and dinner
demands your time. You’ve
been putting off all that work
on the house and it is screaming
your name every time you
enter the drive way. Balancing
home, work, ministry and fun
time can get out of whack at
times. Leaving you stung out
and wore out to say the lease.
Having our strength renewed is
a daily process and there is a
place where that strength is supplied,
the hand of God. He can
strengthen the feeblest of arms
and give strength to the weary.
At just the right time God can
lift us from our weary place and
give strength we never knew we
had. Here we will discuss a way
in which we can lift our hearts to
the heart of God and renew our
strength on a daily basis.
Like running a marathon, you
have to train yourself to make it
to the fi nish line. When you fi rst
begin to train you can walk away
exhausted. Your feet cry out,
your legs are on fi re and all you
want to do is fi nd a place to collapse.
However, given time and
the proper training you begin to
see that you can run further and
further. One mile, two miles and
after months of training you fi nd
yourself moving faster and more
deliberate. Your one mile has
turned into fi ve. And you actually
fi nd yourself stronger than ever
before. Spiritual strength is much
like physical strength, with the
proper breathing, exercise and
self-discipline you can move further
each time.

For example, look at Paul in
the New Testament, 2 Corinthians
12:9. Paul in the middle
of training others to be spiritually
fi t he himself fi nds himself
battling a problem. In the
scripture Paul refers to his
problem as a thorn. Paul was
weary, exhausted from the
battle this thorn had brought.
In his exhausted state Paul
cries out to God to remove the
troublesome thorn. Not once or
twice but three times Paul cries
out. God’s response may not
have been the response Paul
desired, however the answer
was perfect. 2 Corinthian 12:9,
10 “9 And He said to me, “My
grace is suffi cient for you, for
My strength is made perfect
in weakness.” Therefore, most
gladly I will rather boast in my
infi rmities, that the power of
Christ may rest upon me. 10
Therefore I take pleasure in
infi rmities, in reproaches, in
needs, in persecutions, in distresses,
for Christ’s sake. For
when I am weak, then I am
strong” (NKJV). Paul learned
how important it is to rely on
God’s strength. Did you get
what Paul did he cried out to
God. There are times when we
are exhausted not only physically
but spiritually and emotionally.
You may be wondering”
so what do I do when I am so
exhausted I feel as if I cannot
go on”. Like Paul the Psalmist
shares this answer found in the

ook of Psalms. “The righteous
cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them out of all their
troubles.18 The Lord is near to
those who have a broken heart,
and saves such as have a contrite
spirit.19 Many are the affl ictions
of the righteous, But the
Lord delivers him out of them all”
(Psalm 34:17-19).
Prayer! In verse 17 we see “The
righteous cry out…” Those who
know the Lord Jesus Christ as
their Savior are the righteous.
The result of our prayer is that
God hears. When we are at a
place where we simply cannot go
on we cry out to God as Paul did
in 2 Corinthians and the Psalmist
in Psalms. When we cry out
in our weakness God hears and
in turn we receive through God’s
Holy Spirit strength. And through
this strength we can do anything,
“I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me”
(Philippians 4:13). As mentioned
before you come home from
work exhausted, and you reason
“where will I get the strength to
do all this”. I work in retail and
I am on my feet sometimes 13
hours in a day. By the time I get
home I can hardly move. Yet the
cats are waiting to be fed, the
husband is waiting to be fed and
I am ready for bed. I have found
myself on many an occasion
whispering “Father please give
me the strength to do all that
needs to be done” it never fails.
A few minutes later, I am ready
to go. As we turn to God for the
strength to get through each day,
God empowers us to not only
perform the task in front of us
but also to continue beyond our
own capacity. Renewed strength
is a daily process. As we read
through God’s word and daily
reach out to God through prayer
He renews and strengthens us
spiritually. As we eat properly,
get the proper rest and exercise
our bodies respond and we
get stronger. Like the marathon
runner we talked about, a daily
time of fi lling up on the word of
God can offer renew strength.
It’s like this, as we breathe out
a prayer for needed strength
God hears and strengthens us.
As we exhale our prayer He
breathes back into us strength.
Do you feel exhausted and
ready to throw in the towel? Are
you running on empty? Is your
strength all but gone? Fill up, in
and with the presence of God.
Talk to the one who can offer
endless strength. Trust Him to
strengthen you. Share with Him
how you feel and ask for His
help. He gives a strength like no
other, that lifts and lasts like no
other. Be strengthen through a
whisper. Romans 5:6 “For when
we were still without strength,
in due time Christ died for the
ungodly”. God knows we need

A Special
GIFT FROM GOD
By Don Ford
“Now FAITH is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1
Learning what faith really is seems to be the
key for most believers. I remember when I
came face to face with a need for faith. I
attended college on faith. But I would fi nd
out what real faith was.
When we are down on our luck or a serious

situation hits us, we must
call on FAITH. That same
faith comes out of prayer
and believing we are being
heard, and so it is. Faith
is discovered in a hidden
place. I know I have found
it there.
I remember returning home
from classes, and I met my
wife at the door of our place.
She reminded me that there
was no food in the house.
“There is a can of this and a
can of that, but not enough
to make a meal.”
She wondered what we
should do about it. Instead
of applying faith, I suggested
that we could go
next door, since everyone
was a Christian around the
school. “We could go there
and ask for help and when
they needed help, we could
then be there for them when
they needed it.”
My wife assured me that
that didn’t feel like faith. She
said: “I think we should just
pray and ask for help from
God.” She then went ahead
and prepared the table for
dinner by placing places
and cups in place, like the
answer had already taken
place.
WE THEN APPLIED THE
POWER OF TWO
We then prayed together,
and suddenly there came
a knock on the door. The
head of the Bible Literature
Department of Houghton
College in Houghton, N.Y.
stood in the doorway. She
had a tall bag of food steaming
out of the top of it. As
she handed it to me, I stood
there stunned. We had just
prayed, and here she was.
I thought this was too soon,
take it back! :-}
I stood there dumbfounded,
since the moment we had
fi nished praying, there came
that knock; more importantly
- the ANSWER.
FAITH then was seen in an
action (Setting the table -
or ‘preparing for rain’ so to
speak.) God moved on our
visible action of putting our
trust in Him to provide what
we had hoped for - a meal.
We needed to go deeper to
understand why she chose
our place. We then went
over to see these folks and
thank them for their kindness
and generosity. I also
had to know why they chose
us, with hundreds of other
folks living between us and
them. Why us in particular.
We exchanged hugs and
I asked the all important
question: Why us?
She shared that they had
just fi nished having their
meal, and she began putting
the left over food away. She
had never heard God speak
before. He spoke to her in
a still small voice, “Take that
food over to the Fords.” She
knew it was God’s voice,
(My sheep know my voice.)
Then she obeyed him.
This is only one example
of Faith. Our faith actually
moved God to include
others in this blessing.
Here are more thoughts on
the need to join hands and
agree in prayer with another
believer for God’s best in
our lives and world.
“Life is dark along the shadows
of our lives.” D. G. Ford
We will never be shed of the
evil that encompasses us,
and that lies in wait for us to
make a mistake. Two things
will help us on our way. Stay
close to God by staying in
his Word, and fi nd a close
friend who will agree to pray
for you. It only stands to
reason you must pray for
the friend as well.
As Pastor Mike Blankenship
puts it: “Let me encourage
you today to seek for
someone qualifi ed to stand
with you in agreement for
whatever you are believing
for today. Encourage
one another in the Lord and
lift each other continually!
Jesus sent the disciples out
two by two. You would do
well to follow His pattern.
The results will astound you!
“When two people agree
together it will super charge
their faith. One puts a thousand
to fl ight and two put
ten thousand to fl ight. As
you can see, it goes to the
tenth power when there is
total agreement! The books
of Acts describes the power
of agreement in the upper
room. The presence of God
shook the building when
they were in one accord!
One of the reasons the

enemy fi ghts the family so
hard is he understands the
power of two!”
One great promise, and
there are many, is Matthew
18:19 King James Version
(KJV): 19 Again I say unto
you, That if two of you shall
agree on earth as touching
any thing that they shall
ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is
in heaven.
https:// www.biblegateway.
com/passage/?search=Ma
tthew+18%3A19&version=
KJV
Amos 3:3, King James Version
(KJV) “Can two walk
together, except they be
agreed?”
This is the other side of
the equation. God is no
respecter of persons,
so this could be any two
people that know God and
follow him. The solution to
this world’s problems could
be tackled if we all pair up
and begin to pray. START
TODAY. Find that someone
to partner with, and then
watch your world be turned
upside down for our God.
Have great expectations for
what God will do!
So, remember that we
can’t rub just any two sticks
together to get a spark and
see God’s fi re fall on lives.
It doesn’t have to be your
marriage partner, it could
just be a close friend. Now,
pray together, and let God
do the rest. He waits to hear
from us. Matthew 7:7-8,
King James Version (KJV)
“Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall
fi nd; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you: For every
one that asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh fi ndeth;
and to him that knocketh it
shall be opened.”
This is not a deep dark
secret, but I’ll guess not
many have availed themselves
of this; God’s special
provision. Make a difference
in your world, but don’t
try and do it on your own.
Find the one you can partner
with, and bring order
out of chaos in this troubled
world. Then let FAITH arise
and God’s enemies be scattered!
King James Bible
Psalm 68:1
“To the chief Musician, A
Psalm or Song of David. Let

You Are Never
Alone
By Danielle Foisy
There are two times that we feel like God isn’t there. The fi rst is
when we have turned away from him. The second is when God
pull’s back to see how we react and cope without him. It’s best
described as God’s test to see how serious we are when we say
to him that we trust him completely. Are we still able to follow him
when we don’t feel his presence? Here is the problem: We as
humans succumb to our ‘feelings.’ God does not leave us, but
there are certainly times we ‘feel’ like he has. This is part of the
enemy’s tactic; he prey’s on our feelings because that is where we
are vulnerable and able to be swayed.
First, we will look at when the distance comes from us and our
actions. God says ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’ so when
you feel an absence from God, who has left who? It’s very black
and white. He promises to never leave us, so when we are trying
to fi nd out why we are feeling the distance, we need to turn the
perspective around and look within. We need to look at ourselves,
what are we doing, how are we behaving, how are we spending our
time, how much effort are we putting into our relationship with God.
The bible says ‘The Lord has hidden himself from his people, but
I trust him and place my hope in him’ Isaiah 8:17. In the midst of
sorrow is probably the hardest time to ‘feel’ like God is there. In his
book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says ‘the deepest level
of worship is praising God in spite of pain, thanking God during a
trial, trusting him when tempted, surrendering while suffering, and
loving him when he seems distant. Many emotions come up when
we feel like God is not with us, especially in times of suffering.
Anger, Hurt, Abandonment, Fear, Loneliness, and Worry.
We are not the only people who struggle with this. Even David

felt this way. ‘ Lord why are you
standing aloof and far away?
Why do you hide when I need
you the most? Why have your
forsaken me? Why do you
remain so distant? Why do you
ignore my cries for help? Why
have you abandoned me? Job is
another example of someone in
the bible that goes through times
of not ‘feeling’ God’s presence.
God is Real, no matter how I feel
Here comes the diffi cult part;
when we are going through a
trail, through suffering, through
something so diffi cult that our
world is falling apart, When it
may be diffi cult to get through
an hour, let alone a day. Those
are moments where distance
from God becomes apart of the
situation very quickly if we are
not careful. The enemy can get
a foothold in these situations
so quickly it is like a blink of an
eye to us. We have to remember,
he is an opportunist and
will attack at our most vulnerable
moments, and he does not
wait for our permission. The fi rst
thing to remember when something
diffi cult happens in our life
is that it is normal as humans to
feel the feelings we are feeling,
that it is okay to allow ourselves
to walk through these feelings
but to keep in mind we have 2
choices. The fi rst is to allow the
enemy to gain a foothold in the
situation, to allow the situation to
destroy you and overtake your
life, and walk away from the God
who loves you even despite the
circumstances occurring. The
second is to allow yourself to
walk through the diffi cult storm
and understand the battle you
are in. To fi ght back, not letting
yourself be a soldier who has
thrown in the towel, but a soldier
who has put his armour on to
protect yourself from the enemy.
Also to learn and grow where
God is teaching. From my own
trials. I have learned that there
is always a lesson and a purpose
in whatever you are experiencing.
God does not waste
one tear your shed, and he is
always putting things in place
to hold you through the storm,
even when we don’t feel it. The
other part of trails to remember
is a lot of times, you don’t see
the big picture while in the midst
of it. In the middle of the storm,
the waves are high and strong.
It is not always that easy to see
the purpose, the lessons or the
bigger picture while in the middle
of it. Casting Crowns wrote a
beautiful song that helped me
through a really diffi cult battle I
endured. In one part is said ‘If
your eyes are on the storm you’ll
wonder if I love you still. If your
eyes are on me, you’ll know that
I always have and I always will’
It really got me when I heard
that because it showed me that
we have a choice, and its not an
easy choice. We can decide to
focus on the negative, the storm,
the situation OR we can focus
on God, his promise, his track
record, and his purpose. I can
tell you, that once we change
our mind-frame about the situation,
we start to see God working
a lot faster then if we allow
ourselves to be engulfed by
the terribleness of the situation.
Something that really helped
me once I started to change
my thinking was looking at what
the bible says about suffering,
and it actually encouraged and
strengthen me and even made
me feel important that I would be
going through something diffi cult
because God had a bigger plan.
Romans 5:3-5
More than that, we rejoice in
our sufferings, knowing that
suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character,
and character produces
hope, and hope does not put us
to shame, because God’s love
has been poured into our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who has
been given to us.
James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers,
when you meet trials of various
kinds, for you know that the testing
of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness
have its full effect, that you may
be perfect and complete, lacking
in nothing.
Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the
waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not
overwhelm you; when you walk
through fi re you shall not be
burned, and the fl ame shall not
consume you.
A good practice when we are
going through a trial and feel
alone from God’s presence is to
test our behaviors and actions
through a funnel to determine
where our hearts are in the
midst of it. How is your time
being spent? Are you prioritizing
other things above your relationship
with him? Are you spending
time, and I mean real time,
in prayer and in his word? I fi nd
sometimes I feel like I am spending
time with the Lord when
really I am just going through the
motions.
First and foremost we can be

assured that God is always
there because he said it and
promised it. He says ‘I will never
leave you; I will never abandon
you’ Hebrews 13:5. If we look
at Gods track record, it’s stellar
and he has never lied so
that should be enough. Unfortunately
we live in a fallen world
where it’s not that simple. Satan
has infl uence in our minds, feelings
and emotions so we battle
doubt and uncertainty especially
in the midst of a storm. I get that
if you lost someone close to you
or are going through something
heartbreaking like a divorce it
doesn’t feel that easy. The truth
is it isn’t. You need to compartmentalize
things. One side is
the feelings, let yourself grieve
and feel the sorrow. The other
side is being productive and
walk through it with a savior and
master that has the ability to
help you through it. So how can
we combat these feelings? Lets
take a closer look.
Worship him in the deepest way.
Back to Rick Warren he says:
When you feel abandoned by
God, yet continue to trust him in
spite of your feelings; you worship
him in the deepest way.
This will not be that simple. You
are combating the enemy in a
way that you need to take so
seriously. You have to imagine
a real war that you are in. The
spiritual war you are experiencing
is as real as the one’s that
exist here on earth. You need
to armor yourself, protect your
soul, mind and body like you
are a soldier in that earthy war.
I have experienced and seen
Satan’s attacks and they are
personal, vicious and detrimental
and can take you down if you
allow yourself to give into the
enemy’s attack.
Pray
I understand that there are
lots of emotions and feelings
involved when there is suffering.
Sometimes those feelings
are even anger and resentment
towards God for whatever
the circumstance is. God can
handle that if we are bringing
it to him. Even bringing anger
to the cross is okay, he would
rather that then silence. I don’t
mean simple little ‘Please help
me God I’m suffering’ prayers. I
did those for years and they got
me nowhere. I mean freverently,
with the broken heart you have
coming to the cross and wholeheartedly
bringing your battle
to him. One battle we endured
as a family, I got to the point
where I created a prayer room
in our home because it was that
serious. I needed a quiet and
special room where I cried out,
yelled at, and got into one-on-on
intimate prayer with my Lord to
help me walk through the battle
because on my own I was getting
no where. God knows what
we are going through, he doesn’t
need to be fi lled in but he needs
our heart’s to be in the right
place to be apart of the solution.
He needs us to be open to hear
what he is saying, to be willing
to do what he is asking us to do
and sometimes even sacrifi ce
things so that we can be closer
to him.
Inner Strength
As I was writing this article, our
Pastor did a sermon on inner
strength and the concept fi ts so
well with going through diffi cult
times and being reassured God
is with you, even when it feels
like he isn’t. The verse to look at
for inner strength is Ephesians
3:14-21
For this reason I kneel before
the Father, from whom every
family[ in heaven and on earth
derives its name. I pray that
out of his glorious riches he
may strengthen you with power
through his Spirit in your inner
being, so that Christ may dwell
in your hearts through faith. And
I pray that you, being rooted
and established in love, may
have power, together with all the
Lord’s holy people, to grasp how
wide and long and high and deep
is the love of Christ, and to know
this love that surpasses knowledge—that
you may be fi lled to
the measure of all the fullness of
God. Now to him who is able to
do immeasurably more than all
we ask or imagine, according to
his power that is at work within
us, to him be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus throughout
all generations, for ever and
ever! Amen.
It is so important to listen to what
Paul is saying as he guides us so
that we develop an inner strength
that can hold us through some
of life toughest storms. When
I read this, the parts that stand
out are ‘being rooted and established
in love may have power,
together with all the Lord’s holy
people, to grasp how wide and
long and high and deep is the
love of Christ’ By being rooted
and established in his love is the
key to having the inner strength
God gives us to withstand the
storms. To fully understand
the lengths, heights, depths
and widths of God’s love is the
answer to having the confi dence
that God is with us no matter if
we ‘feel’ him or not.

Life is not easy, fair or manageable
at many moments in life.
We serve a God who loves us,
protects us but also allows us to
walk through things so we learn
to rely on him for our strength.
He promises to never leave us
or forsake us, but sometimes we
turn our backs and try and control
it all on our own. If we look at
what God tells us in the bible it is
very clear that no matter if we feel
him or not, he is with us. There
are different reasons on why we
feel the distance, sometimes it’s
our own doing and sometimes it’s
God doing something to teach
and mold us to be more like him.
If you are going through a storm
where you are not feeling God
with you, pour into his word like
you never have before and seek
him. If you are seeking him, he
will be there and he will show
you why the ‘feeling’ of distance
has not been there. The last
thing I will leave you with if you
are in the middle of the storm;
allow yourself to be held by God.
Don’t worry about always being
strong, let your God wrap his
arms around you and hold you
in the hard moments. Be open
to the people and circumstances
he will put in your path to allow
that holding to extend into tangible
ways of seeing it happening.
He is always with you, don’t
follow what the world says and
go based on your feelings; they
will deceive you instead trust in
God’s word and his promise that
he is always with you.
My name is Danielle Foisy, I am a
wife, mom and blogger. I love to
learn God’s lessons through life
and fi nd his purpose in all I do.
I write weekly for my blog about
those experiences at www.thestruggleis.com

Supernatural
By Nichel Hilman
Faith
“If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed,” the woman thought.
She had an assurance, a confi dence, a knowing that it would
happen just as she believed. So the woman touched Jesus’ cloak
and immediately her bleeding stopped. She felt within her body that
she was fi nally free from her suffering.
In our minds we may envision the woman straining against the
crowd, her fears, against unbelief and with the tip of her fi ngers,
touched Jesus. But in truth, it
was not the woman’s fi ngers that
touched Jesus, it was her faith.
Her faith, like a key, unlocked
and released power from God to
heal her affl iction. Jesus’ statement,
“Somebody touched Me,
for I perceived power going out
from Me,” seemingly reveals that
the disbursement of power from
Him was automatic. It was as if
He could not resist allowing that
power to be released from Him.
Jesus then told the woman that
it was her faith that healed her.
The woman experienced supernatural
healing as a result of
her faith. Her story illustrates
a clear example of how faith
appropriated the power of God
for a supernatural healing. Many
times throughout the Gospels
Jesus suggested to His followers
and subsequently to us that faith
is the divine instrument for physical
as well as spiritual healing.
He made statements such as:
“Daughter, your faith has made
you well (Mark 5:34); go your
way, your faith has made you
well (Mark 10:52); your faith has
saved you, go in peace (Luke
7:50); and receive your sight,
your faith has made you well”
(Luke 18:42). He was seemingly
stating that the faith that each of
these individuals possessed and
exhibited, was the active agent
in their healing.
In order to activate the supernatural
to intervene in our situations,
our faith must not waver. Instead
it must be solid to a degree that
it even surpasses believing and
reaches to a level of knowing.
Because, God does not reward

fear or doubt. Certainly, God can
act supernaturally in any situation
and without any expression
of faith from us. He has done so
many times throughout history
and as a result of His mercy.
However, He has equipped us to
help ourselves to some degree
by exercising the faith He has
given us. Faith is an attribute of
our spirits and is the enabling
power that God has given to
each individual. Each person
was given a measure of faith
(Romans 12:3) and it would be
impossible to believe in anyone
or anything without it. It would be
diffi cult to maintain a life in our
bodies and in this world if we
did not exercise some degree
of faith. All interactions we have
with people and things in this
world require us to demonstrate
some level of trust. It is only by
faith that we can even accept
the notion that the earth will continue
to hold its position in the
universe and will continue to
sustain our existence.
Undoubtedly without faith or the
strength of faith, the supernatural
is unattainable to us. Faith
is the only way to activate the
supernatural. God has given us
certain powers over the physical
things of the world. We see the
manifestations of these powers
through all the miraculous inventions
in the world and various
medical enablement. Humanity
as a whole has learned to work
with the various laws of the universe
to improve our physical
circumstances. For the natural
things of the world we do use
natural knowledge, skills, and
“universal faith” (not spiritual) to
further our existence. However,
for the supernatural things we
must use spiritual understanding
and empowerment given to
us through the Holy Spirit, one of
which is faith.
God is Spirit. It would be unproductive
to attempt to relate to
God through physical means as
we do with each other. Instead,
God prefers for those who seek
Him to interact with Him in spirit
and in truth (John 4:24). In
other words, He desires for us
to approach Him spiritually—
through faith and truth, both
of which are equipped in us
through the Holy Spirit. As a matter-of-fact,
God is looking and
listening to our hearts for these
qualities, rather than listening
to the sounds of our voices or
examining our body languages
(1 Samuel 16:7). The Holy Spirit
works to restore a Christian’s
faith to God’s intended potency
and He leads us to God’s truth so
that we are equipped to access
the realm of the spirit where God
is and to do the eternal work of
His Kingdom.
Some Christians futilely pray
in an attempt to appropriate
Kingdom benefi ts. They petition
God to intervene in their
situations and then nullify their
requests with doubt-fi lled statements.
They pray to God with
doubt and unbelief in their
hearts. They neglect the necessity
to also deploy their faith.
Prayer is important and when it
is accompanied with faith, it is
a powerful tool. However, faith
is actually more important than
prayer because it is impossible
to please God without faith and
prayers are impotent without
faith. Those who come to God
must believe that He exists, and
that He rewards those who persistently
seek Him (Hebrews
11:6). We must seek Him in faith,
with no doubting. God likens a
person who doubts, to a wave of
the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. The person who doubts
should not suppose that he or
she will receive anything from
the Lord (James 1:6-8).
The Unknown Christian stated
this about prayer in The Kneeling
Christian, “We must not conceive
of prayer as overcoming
God’s reluctance, but as laying
hold of his highest willingness.”
We often become apprehensive
about whether God will help us
resolve our problems, especially
when the answers to our petitions
seem delayed. But consider
this, God created angels
with certain powers. Angels
have great strength, knowledge,
wisdom, and power over natural
and supernatural environments.
Angels are aware of their powers
and act within them in obedience
to God and according to His will.
I imagine that they do not cry
out to God on a consistent basis
or in doubt asking God to intervene
into circumstances that He
has already empowered them
to overcome. Mankind, specifi -
cally Christians, similarly have
empowerment from God through
their faith, however unbelief
neutralizes that power. We consistently
cry out to God for His
divine intervention into our various
situations never exercising
the power that God has given us
to prevail through faith. It may
be that resolution to our problems
may sometime be delayed
because God may be waiting for
us to exercise faith. Faith is such
a powerful tool for us that the
Bible tells us that with it we can
move mountains. More importantly,
we are able to extinguish

or overcome all the injurious tactics
of the wicked one with faith
(Ephesians 6:16).
I have a plaque in my home that I
found at a Hobby Lobby store. It
serves as a confi rmation of what
I believed the Holy Spirit spoke
to my heart one day. It states,
“Faith is not believing that God
can, it is knowing that He will.”
In the story about the woman
who was supernaturally healed
by her faith, the woman knew
she would be healed if she just
touched Jesus’ cloak. There was
no doubt in her mind. We can
learn from her story that the kind
of faith that activates the supernatural
goes beyond believing, it
is knowing. It is complete confi -
dence in God. A person comes
to the point of knowing through
the work of the Holy Spirit. The
woman came to this assurance
when she heard a “word” about
Jesus and decided to believe
what she heard. She then demonstrated
what she believed by
her actions. The Bible tells us
that faith comes by hearing the
Word of God (Romans 10:17).
We can certainly emulate this
woman of faith by searching the
scriptures to fi nd God’s promises
and what God’s will is in any
situation. Then we can pray with
certainty, knowing that what we
pray for is according to God’s
will. Like the woman, we can
deliberately touch God with our
faith. Faith is the only way corporeal
beings, such as mankind,
can touch a Holy God who is
spirit. And, if we can touch God
through faith, we can definitely
hold onto Him through faith in
His promises.
The enemy has been working
so diligently from the Garden
of Eden until today to undermine
our trust in God. I believe
he does this because he knows
the power that God has given
us over him and his tactics
through faith. However, due
to sin our power through faith
in God became weakened—
became dead faith. Jesus came
and restored that power by
delivering us from unbelief and
sin-fi lled works. God restored
power to us through the Holy
Spirit as a result of Jesus’ work.
We receive the necessary faith
to believe and become saved
through the power and work of
the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit
works through the hearing of the
Word of God to grow faith in us
(Romans 10:17). Through the
Holy Spirit all those who believe
in Christ may be empowered to
act within the supernatural.
It is pertinent at this point that we
share an understanding about
the attributes of faith in order to
appreciate its function. Faith is
described as the substance of
things hoped for, the evidence
of things not seen (Hebrews
11:1). Examining the description
closely we fi nd the message
that is being communicated. In
essences the passage is stating
that believing is the actual matter
or physical consistency of a thing
and that which causes the manifestation
of things that are not
seen. There are different consistency
of faith among believing
individuals as well as among
unbelieving individuals and the
strength of power exuded by it.
But, it is the same Spirit who distributes
to each individual as He
chooses.
The Bible tells us that faith is a
fruit and can be given as a gift of
the Spirit (Galatians 5:22; 1 Corinthians
12:9). Faith is a product
or a fruit produced by the Holy
Spirit. Therefore, faith and the
Holy Spirit are one and the same
and this is the reason why faith
can be so powerful. Additionally,
as a gift, faith may be given as
a special dispensation to certain
individuals by the Holy Spirit.
Faith that is given as a gift of the
Spirit surpasses even “spiritual
faith” (the kind believers possess)
to the level of knowing.
It is “supernatural faith” and it
is usually given to benefi t the
Church. Individuals gifted with
such a faith have spiritual sight,
hearing, knowledge, wisdom,
and understanding. Examples
of the special dispensation of
supernatural faith by the Holy
Spirit can be observed through
the lives of various individuals
throughout the Scriptures, especially
through the life of Jesus
and the lives of the prophets.
Pastor Kenneth Copeland in
a message on faith, identifi ed
what I termed “supernatural
faith” as the “God kind of faith.”
He described, “The God kind of
faith operates in the realm of the
spirit. It takes hold of the Word
of God in the unseen realm and
brings that Word to pass in the
natural world. That is the kind of
faith God used to bring this earth
into existence. It’s a powerful
force. And when it fl ows from the
hearts and mouths of believers,
real spiritual faith changes natural
things.”
The story of Elisha shows us this
kind of faith or power in action.
Elisha received a double portion
of the Spirit that rested upon
Elijah. Elijah, by the empowerment
of the Holy Spirit, did

incredible miracles. But with a
double portion of the Holy Spirit,
Elisha possessed even more
power and did more miracles
than Elijah (2 Kings 2:9). The
same power that worked in Elijah
and Elisha, was the same power
that created the universe.
Faith is the creative force of the
universe. All Christians have the
potential of all that power dwelling
within them through the Holy
Spirit. As the creative force of
the universe, the Holy Spirit
created everything in the world
that God willed to create. He
is also the power of our faith.
Jesus encouraged us through
the scriptures that it pleases the
Father to meet our every need.
God’s provision to meet our
every need is the Holy Spirit.
He promises to commission the
Holy Spirit to give us what we
ask, help us fi nd what we seek,
and open doors on our behalf
(Matthew 7:7-12). God will not
reward our trust in Him with evil.
When Jesus’ disciples asked
Him to increase their faith, Jesus
told them that if they had faith as
a mustard seed, the mulberry
tree would obey them (Luke
17:6). He repeated to them that
they only needed faith as a mustard
seed when they also asked
Him why they could not cast out
a demon (Matthew 17:20). Most
understand these passages to
say that we only need a mustard
seed size faith for the miraculous
to happen. While this may be
true, other attributes of the mustard
seed is just as important to
note. Mustard seeds are alive,
able to grow plants that reach
great heights, and they can produce
fruits. Our faith should possess
the same characteristics of
a mustard seed. Faith should be
alive and be able to grow and
produce. As Jesus explained to
His disciples, their unbelief was
the reason their efforts to cast
out the demon was unsuccessful.
Unbelief is evidence of dead
faith. Unbelief and doubt will
render our attempts to activate
the supernatural, ineffective.
Faith can be increased but it
does so as we submit to the Holy
Spirit. As we sow to the Spirit we
will reap more of the Spirit. Stephen
was described as a man
full of faith and power. The power
that Stephen exhibited was proportionate
to his level of faith. He
was full with faith and so he was
also full of power. As a result of
his great faith and power he was
able to activate the supernatural
and he did great miracles (Acts
6:8).
Tenacity of faith is the proper
posture for a Christian, particularly
when answers seem
delayed. According to Edward
Bounds in his book Necessity
of Prayer, “Faith does not grow
disheartened because prayer
is not immediately honoured; it
takes God at His Word, and lets
Him take what time He chooses
in fulfi lling His purposes, and in
carrying on His work.”
Faith is the key that unlocks
the power of God. With that
key nothing is impossible to us.
Jesus said, “If you can believe,
all things are possible to him
who believes” (Mark 9:23). He
also stated that “nothing will be
impossible for you” who have
living faith (Matthew 17:20).
These statements are similar to
the statement, “For with God all
things are possible” (Mark 10:
27). When we believe God we
are united with Him and have
access to infinite possibilities
and infi nite power.
Biography
Nichel Hilman lives in Cibolo,
Texas. She loves God and strives
to demonstrate that through
loving others. She has been wife
to Celsio for twenty-seven years.
And, she is a mother to Misha
Mariah, Nicholas Stewart, and
Jonathon James.

Foundation of Faith
Why is developing faith important to your walk?
By Margo McKenzie
I have never seen Jesus Christ. I have never
talked to the disciples or had an encounter with
the Apostle Paul, Timothy or any other of the
gospel greats. I have never peered into a microscope
to fi nd proof of the gospel story. By logic
and reasoning, I have not been able to deduce
that the only way to God is through Jesus Christ.
When I was old enough to walk, my mother woke
me up at 9:30 every Sunday morning to get ready
for church. I ate the weekly prunes and pancakes,
and waited for my father to return from his
midnight duty as a police offi cer and drive me to
church.
I started with the 11 o’clock service and listened
as one church leader opened the service in
prayer, another read a scripture, a third preached
a fi fteen-minute sermon, and yet another, closed
with prayer. After an hour break, I went to Sunday
School where the teacher gave us record book
credit as each student recited the assigned verses.
My favorites were Psalms 1:1-10; 23 and John 14:
1-10. Then we read, listened and answered questions
about another bible story.
I believed everything I was taught. When I was
thirteen, I attended an over-night Christian camp.
During the last night of camp service, the preacher
asked a question that I could not answer. “If Jesus
returns while you’re on your way back to your dorm,
are you ready to meet him?” I had never actually
asked Jesus to come into my life, but the prospect
of being left behind at a campground in the hills
of Pennsylvania or abandoned in the woods was
enough to scare this thirteen year-old into heaven,
so I stayed behind so that someone could explain
to me how to be saved.
When I became a little older, I attended the young
people’s meeting on Sunday evenings. I continued
to study God’s word, asked to be baptized and

egan taking communion when I was a junior in
high school. I found refuge in hymns, scripture
and the family of Christians I found in my church.
The Christian life was everything I expected.
Then I began to pay more attention to what I was
hearing about Jesus and reading in the Bible. I
began to fi nd inconsistencies and asked questions
in Sunday School. Many were not fond of this
new phase of my faith. I wanted to understand the
Bible and this Christian life into which I was born
and then re-born. The questions mounted in college
where I found the Christian community was
more receptive, so I was more willing to hang in
there.
Ever since college, my life has been a cycle of
hearing, believing, living and questioning, doubting,
hearing, believing, living, questioning, doubting,
hearing. . . I rely on this verse up to today:
“Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of
God.” This has been my Christian journey, a life
of questioning and moving on in faith.
In a New York Times article, columnist William
Irvin noted this quote about faith:
“The Trappist monk Thomas Merton wrote that
faith “is a decision, a judgment that is fully and
deliberately taken in the light of a truth that cannot
be proven — it is not merely the acceptance of a
decision that has been made by somebody else.”
(“God is a Question Not an Answer,” March 26,
2016, http://goo.gl/y8Hkfn)
Out of respect for the speaker, one listens as she
or he shares God’s word. The next step is up to
the listener. She or he makes a decision to either
accept or reject the message. Those who do
accept what is said, do so through one act only:
faith.
Even when we question what God is doing, our
questions are an act of faith. How could we question
what God is doing if we don’t believe he exists?
Whatever our degree of faith, God can work with
us. All we need is mustard-seed faith, the tiniest
seed, I’m told. God takes it from there. And so
must we because “faith without works is dead.”
(James 2:14 KJV) What good is a dead faith? From
a foundation of faith, we move on in the Christian
live. We show our faith by the things that we do
and the places we go. “Without faith, it is impossible
to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV)
After making a decision to live the Christian life,
Christians make a decision to interpret their lives
through the lens of faith. In different circumstances
that we encounter we want to know what Jesus
would do. What would Jesus say? What would he
think? How does he want us to live? We want to
walk as a Christian should.
We search for these answers by praying, reading
the bible, listening to a song or a sermon, reading
a spiritual book. As we live, we pay attention
to all that is happening around us as we search
for an answers to our dilemmas. A fi rm commanding
verse or sermon with its accompanying peace
enters within, and, by faith, we accept it as coming
from God himself.
Sometimes we interpret correctly, and sometimes
we do not. As we fi ne-tune our faith, grow deeper
and wiser, we learn to strengthen our faith muscles
to discern whether a response is actually from
God or of God.
When we fall, in faith, we ask for forgiveness, and,
by faith, we believe that we are forgiven. By faith,
we ask God for direction in our lives and pray for
protection for our family. By faith, we ask God to
lead and direct the pastor of our church, and, by
faith, we use our gifts to serve the Christian community.
Every day, we Christians make a decision to do
our best to follow Jesus’s guidance for living so
that we live our best life—as Jesus would defi ne it.
This, too, is a faith decision.
Scientists are amazed at how perfectly our bodies
systems work. Astronauts are humbled by the
magnifi cence of the heavens. But, of course, that’s
not proof of Christ dying for the sins of the world.
By reasoning, no one can prove that God is or that
the only way to God is through Jesus Christ. Without
proof, we accept the claims of the Bible from
Genesis through Revelation-- by faith.
After that, for me, the Christian experience talks

on a more personal nature. I begin to ask God for
what I need and rely on what he has already promised,
and when I look at my life, I can only say that
he has been faithful.
Ms. Clara in the movie “War Room” set aside a
closet in her house for prayer only. On little sheets
of paper, she posted her prayer requests on the
walls. In the same way she posted God’s promises
as refl ected in various scriptures she treasured.
Her personal experience with God was
proof enough of his power and presence in her
life, and all she could do was share her experience
with Elizabeth Jordan, her broker who listened to
what Ms. Clara had to say and started a war room
of her own. This movie depicts a riveting story of
the power of prayer in both their lives.
I have a spreadsheet that itemizes my requests to
God and his answers. Is this proof? It’s enough
for me. I don’t speak in tongues. I have never
heard Gods voice, yet he is still my choice.
My Faith: A Link in A Chain
Believers shared the story of Jesus with others
who chose to believe. They, in turn, shared the
story of Jesus with me, and, without proof, I chose
to believe. I continue the chain by sharing the
story of Jesus with others, encouraging them to
follow the Christian path. I am a link in a chain of
faith that, I pray, continues to replicate.
Some people may think they are following the
Christian lifestyle by “being good” They seek to
tell the truth and do everything ethical hoping that
earns them a spot in the kingdom of heaven. But
our goodness is not good enough. This type of
faith is a faith in self. It doesn’t rise to God’s standards
of excellence.
The only way to the Christ is by faith in the work
that Christ has already done. The only way to stay
connected to Christ is through faith. We of the
faith have to keep the faith and share it. Like DNA
replication, we pass on the code of Christ necessary
(the gospel story) for the building of the Christian
family. God himself connects the links.
God Is a Question, Not an Ans wer”
http://goo.gl/y8Hkfn
By WILLIAM IRWIN date published New York
Times MARCH 26, 2016 2:30 PM

“Truly I tell you, if you have fa
mustard seed, you can say to
‘Move from here to there,’ a
Nothing will be impossible fo

Faith to Move
Mountains
ith as small as a
this mountain,
d it will move.
r you.”
By Chris Benton
There are several steps to having the faith
to move mountains. You don’t just jump
out on faith and move big mountains but
you build to those bigger moments by applying
faith to smaller moments. The steps are; fi rst
steps, baby steps, bigger steps, giant steps and
impossible steps. I believe that if you look at your
life and anything that you have accomplished, you
have already gone through these steps. Maybe
you didn’t reach some of the steps because you
quit before them, but if you had success then you
went through most of these. The bigger the success
the more of these 5 steps you went through.
Always remember, your whole life is built around
taking one step and then taking another! Faith is
always involved in taking these steps!
I believe lead to a faith that can move mountains:
First Steps: This has to be the most important part
because without stepping out on faith and taking
those fi rst steps, you will never reach where God
is calling you. Sadly, this is the part that many
people never do and it’s part of the reason why
many people don’t go where they know in their
heart God called them to go.
What does God say about faith?
Matthew 17:20 He replied, “Because you have so
little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small
as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing
will be impossible for you.”
But the question is how do you build to believing
impossible faith? Here are several steps that

Does it take faith? Of course it does, because
many times you are stepping into the unknown
and that’s hard for us. Our lives have been trained
to only take steps where we will know the result.
Faith says to take steps even when you don’t know
because God is on your side. When God calls, you
have to JUMP! You have to take that fi rst step and
go for it. As they say, “A journey of a thousand
miles begins with the fi rst step.”
Baby Steps: Once you have taken those dreaded
fi rst steps and realize that it didn’t kill you, now you
are on your way. You can start taking baby steps
because daily baby steps are always better than
giant steps that you take once in a while. Taking
steps daily needs to become a lifestyle towards
what you have been called to do. The more you
take these baby steps, the more you results you
will start to see.
Think about it this way, would you want a penny
doubled every day for 30 days or a million dollars?
If you said a million dollars(giant step) then
you would lose a lot of money because the right
answer is a penny doubled every day (baby steps).
Sometime just do that math on a calculator and
you will see what you gave up by taking the giant
step instead of the baby steps.
Bigger Steps: The more you take those baby
steps, the bigger they become and now you are on
to the next step of this process. This is where you
are starting to see some things really happening
in your life. This is where people’s heads are starting
to turn, because a lot of times through those
fi rst two steps, people may look at you like you are
crazy. At this point, some people will come around
and say that maybe you are right on this. Others
will still call you crazy for where you are going. It’s
just a part of life.
When people get to this step, this is where many
crash because at this point life has probably gotten
comfortable. More money is starting to come in.
The things they are doing are getting results and
life seems to be going their way. This step is where
people can easily get way too comfortable because
of what’s happening. How many times do you see
someone start making more money than they are
used to and then stop doing what got them there in
the fi rst place. It happens a lot and then they lose
sight of where God was calling them to go.
II believe there are two main roadblocks that stop
people from God’s calling. They are: taking that
uncomfortable fi rst step towards where God called
you to go and letting life get too comfortable. Both
of those are roadblocks that you have to overcome.
Giant Steps: If you get beyond the roadblock of
comfort then you start to reach giant steps. This is
where people start telling you that you were lucky,
but they didn’t see all of those times you cried
wondering if you would ever reach God’s calling
for your life. This is where when you look back it
will just amaze you. You will know in your heart
the only way for you to be here in this moment is
because of God. There is no other way.
These steps are now becoming so much easier and
now your vision for your life has started expanding.
Maybe at the beginning you wanted to reach
a few thousand people, but now you can see one
day reaching millions. You are taking the biggest
steps of faith in your life and it just feels right. You
are reaching for bigger and greater things, but this
is not the last step. There is one more to go and if
you are faithful in the long-run, you will get to the
last step.
Impossible Steps: You have gone through all of
the steps and you made it to this point. I have to be
honest, very few people get to this point. The ones
that do, many change their whole generation like
the late Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, John
F. Kennedy, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. I can go on
and on. There are so many people in our lifetime
that changed the way we see things.
But the biggest life changer was Jesus Christ. In
only 33 years of his life and in only 3 years of his
ministry, he changed everything. Now if anyone
made it to impossible steps, it was Jesus. No
Christian can doubt that and many people of other
religions even realize the impact that he made
throughout the world. He was an impossible stepper,
but it took him 30 years to build up before he
went out with his ministry even though he knew
what God called. He knew he was supposed to die
for us all on that cross.
What are you willing to do for God today? It isn’t

about taking those impossible steps yet, it is about
taking those fi rst steps. The very fi rst step you
need to take is either getting saved or rededicating
your life back to God if you have been off track.
Ask God to come into your life and tell you that
you have sinned so you realize you need Christ
and accept Christ 100% into your heart. Ask him to
lead you through the steps you need to take along
your journey in life.
If you need to come back to Christ then ask him
back into your heart. Let him know that you have
sinned too and you are rededicating your life back
to him. Ask him to help you see things through his
eyes for your life because when his desires for you
become your desires then nothing can stop you!
Now from this point stay fully surrendered to God.
You will be able to say although I went through
heartache, I also went through many triumphs in
this life because I started with my fi rst steps of
faith and kept moving forward!
Living a God-Inspired Life,
Chris Benton
Facebook: @TheChrisBenton
Twitter: @TheChrisBenton.com
Web: TheChrisBenton.com
I am Chris Benton. I run a Christian Blog and am
launching a marriage ministry because God’s purpose
for mine and my wife’s life is to help marriages.
I have been writing for several years now
and have found a great passion in writing, so
because of that I am writing a book on my 19 years
of addiction that I fi nally walked away from over 8
years ago! I have also started creating short video

Authority Over Demons Requires
Faith, Boldness, and
Knowledge of God’s
Written
Word
By Paul Ahnert
Demonic activity is often a taboo subject
in Christian circles. Fear or ignorance
on the topic of demonism, may cause
believers to suffer needlessly from oppression
or the infl uence of evil spiritual forces. Believers
should be careful to not blame every sin
or problem on the devil, however, the Church
must recognize demonic activity as something
real and know that believers can have individual
victory over such activity. Concerning
the demonic, there is little balance in Christiandom,
in more mainstream churches, the
dark side of spiritual forces are generally
ignored or denied, while in deliverance type
churches , there are those who see a demon
behind every bush, so to speak, blaming
even mundane sins and problems on specifi c
demons. At the risk of giving too much credit
to the forces of evil, the topic of demonic activity
must be addressed by the Church. Jesus
and the Apostles confronted demons head on
and gave victory to the victims of possession
and oppression.
DEMONIC ACTIVITY IS ON THE RISE
WORLDWIDE
With demonic activity on the rise around the
world, the Christian Church, now, more than
ever, must be vigilant and equipped to deal

with the supernatural. As sin in
the world increases, supernatural
manifestations of evil also
increase. Dozens of television
programs feature ghost hunters
or ghost encounters, reports of
UFO activity are found in mainstream
news reports, and stories
of possession and exorcism
are the things of headlines in
reputable news sources. Overt
demonic activity, once, something
only encountered by missionaries
in the most pagan of
lands of the Near East has come
to the western world. Hindu
based New Age philosophy and
practice has opened the door to
unprecedented spiritual oppression
and influence. In 2015,
National Public Radio did a story
about the need for more Exorcists
in the Philippines. In January of
2016, Yahoo news reported that
an Exorcist was needed on the
set of the fi lm Conjuring 2, as
paranormal disruptions plagued
the fi lming of the fi rst movie in
the series. The Christian world
is not immune from practices
that invite evil spirits as some
churches are implementing
guided imagery as a counseling
technique and events such as
church sponsored Yoga classes
are increasingly common.
DEMONIC ACTIVITY IN THE
TIME OF JESUS
Perhaps the most well know
story of a demonic manifestation
is the account of Christ casting
out Legion. Luke 8:26-33 tells
us of Jesus entering the coun-

try of the Gerasenes where
He encountered a man living
among the tombs possessed
by many demons. The demons
actually confessed Christ during
the encounter: Luke 8:28 When
he saw Jesus, he cried out
and fell down before him and
said with a loud voice, “What
have you to do with me, Jesus,
Son of the Most High God? I
beg you, do not torment me.”
Jesus, having been asked by
the demons to not send them
to the pit, cast them into a herd
of pigs, freeing the man from
his suffering. Jesus demonstrated,
in likewise manner,
numerous times, His authority
over evil spirits. That authority
was passed on to the Apostles,
as well. Luke 9:1-2 And he
called the twelve together and
gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure
diseases, and he sent them
out to proclaim the kingdom of
God and to heal. As believers,
indwelt by the Holy Spirit, we
have access to the same power
and authority that was given to
the Apostles. Along with all gifts
and empowerments given by
God, obedience to His word and
faithfulness to our savior is the
key to overcoming the forces of
darkness in our lives.
MODERN DAY OPPRESSION
IN THE CHURCH
It must be understood that
believers in Christ cannot be
possessed by unclean spirits.
2 Corinthians 6:15-16 states,
What harmony has Christ with
Belial, or what has a believer in
common with an unbeliever? Or
what agreement has the temple
of God with idols? For we are
the temple of the living God; just
as God said, “I will dwell in them
and walk among them; and I will
be their God, and they shall be
My people” Being indwelt by the
Holy Spirit, it is impossible for the
body of a believer to be inhabited
by an unclean spirit. 1 John
4:4 Little children, you are from
God and have overcome them,
for he who is in you is greater
than he who is in the world.
Clearly, the Apostle John designates
the believer as having
God within and evil being in the
world, thus, outside the believer.
Though a believer cannot be
indwelt by evil, a Christian can
be oppressed and/or infl uenced
by an unclean spirit. Rex(not
his real name) found himself
bedeviled by an evil spirit pretending
to be God Himself. Rex
prayed for an external evidence
that God was real, an evidence
beyond what he found in scripture.
A voice began to speak to
Rex and led him to actual scripture,
in an attempt to destroy his
faith. This lying spirit convinced
Rex that he had lost his salvation.
Jesus warned us against
seeking external evidence:
Luke 16:31 He said to him, ‘If
they do not hear Moses and the
Prophets, neither will they be
convinced if someone should
rise from the dead.” While this
is an extreme case, it serves to
demonstrate that believers are
not exempt from supernatural
attack. Rex has since recognized
the lying nature of this evil
spirit, and is now secure in his
salvation, but the process that
led to this realization was agonizing.
Certain behaviors and
practices should be avoided by
believers as they invite supernatural
manifestations that are
dangerous and destructive.
PRACTICES THAT LEAD TO
DEMONIC ACTIVITY
Generally, demonic activity
does not manifest unbidden.
There are certain behaviors
and activities that hep create an
atmosphere conducive to manifestation.
Sorcery and witchcraft
are obvious practices that present
an open invitation to evil spirits.
Spiritualism, such as New
Age or or Eastern Mysticism, is
also a catalyst for providing an
open door to dark supernatural
forces. Amazingly, interest and
activity having to do with UFOlogy
has also been linked to evil
spirit activity. Witchcraft, spiritualism
and UFOlogy are certainly
not the only things that lead to
demonic attack, oppression and
possession, they are, however,
the most prevalent.
Witchcraft and sorcery are easily
identifi ed with the powers of
darkness, believers should have
no association with such practices.
Galatians 5:19-21Now the
works of the fl esh are evident:
sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity,
strife, jealousy, fi ts of anger,
rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
envy, drunkenness, orgies, and
things like these. I warn you,
as I warned you before, that
those who do such things will
not inherit the kingdom of God.
Sorcery is listed, by the Apostle
Paul, as among the most
destructive sins. Many Christian
homes have opened the door
to the glorifi cation of witchcraft
through the Harry Potter series
of books and fi lms, exposing
innocent children to something
scripture explicitly condemns. It
must also be noted, the root for
witchcraft, Pharmakea, is the

word from which we get pharmacy.
Illicit drug use, opening
ones consciousness up to outside
infl uence, would be considered
a form of sorcery and
is a very dangerous practice,
spiritually speaking. It is not a
coincidence many liquor stores
advertise Wine and Spirits, and
being high on drugs is referred
to as being under the infl uence.
Witchcraft, sorcery, illicit drug
and alcohol use are all activities
specifi cally named as things
Christ followers should shun.
Spiritualism or Eastern New Age
practice has permeated western
culture, thanks in part to
the Rock and Roll drug culture
of the 1960’s. The Beatles, for
instance, introduced millions of
Western teenagers to Hinduism
and Eastern concepts of spirituality,
such as Karma, reincarnation,
and pantheism (the idea
that God is all and in all). Hinduism,
with it’s worship and veneration
of multiple gods, makes
direct contact with evil. 1 Corinthians
10:20 No, I imply that
what pagans sacrifi ce they offer
to demons and not to God. I do
not want you to be participants
with demons. Along with these
overt practices, come less obviously
evil practices. Yoga, for
example, is spiritually dangerous
and linked to demonic activity,
yet has been embraced by
society to the point of fi nding it’s
way into churches. Marketed
as healthy stretching exercises,
Yoga has a dark spiritual component
that cannot be denied.
Yoga’s main objective is to tap
into or release the Kundalini
power located at the base of
the spine. The Kundalini is purported
to bring spiritual enlightenment.
The Kundalini is known
by Yogic adherents, as a serpent
spirit which lays coiled up at
the base of the spine. That this
practice has found it’s way into,
supposedly, Christian churches
is mind numbing. These practices
and others, such as guided
imagery, make direct contact
with dark spirits, which we are
commanded against. 1 Timothy
4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says
that in later times some will fall
away from the faith, paying attention
to deceitful spirits and doctrines
of demons. Paul equates
spiritism with falling away from
faith. Eastern practice is anathema
to proper Christian thought
and practice and has no place in
the life of a believer, as it leads
directly to the empowerment of
dark spiritual forces.
Perhaps the least obvious practice
that leads to demonic activity
is interest in UFOs. The groundbreaking
book Alien Encounters:
The Secret Behind UFO Phenomenon
by Chuck Missler and
Mark Eastman, details the direct
connection between UFOs and
the demonic. Since Missler and
Eastman published this work,
numerous books by Christian
authors have come forward
presenting the same claims.
Time and again, researchers
have found direct correlation to
UFO sightings and experiences
linked to supernatural activity,
often coupled with the practices
listed here in the preceding
paragraphs. Missler, Eastman
and others demonstrate how,
what many believe to be visitors
from other planets, are, in reality,
extra-dimensional beings
bent on bringing harm to mankind.
On page 181 of his book
Transformation, author and self
described UFO abductee Whitley
Strieber says this about his
encounter with supposed aliens,
“I felt an absolutely indescribable
sense of menace. It was hell on
earth to be there(in the presence
of the entities), and yet I couldn’t
move, couldn’t cry out, couldn’t
get away. I’d lay as still as death,
suffering inner agonies, whatever
was there seemed so monstrously
ugly, so fi lthy and dark
ad sinister. Of course they were
demons, they had to be, and
they were here and I couldn’t
get away “ Whatever one thinks
about Strieber and his claims
of alien abduction, it cannot be
denied that his experiences have
led him to believe that the beings
with whom he came in contact
were demonic in nature. The
only conclusion we can make is
that interest in UFOs and aliens
brings the believer into spiritual
danger, allowing infl uences and
associations that open pathways
to the demonic.
THE BELEIVERS ROLE AND
RESPONSE
For the believer, demonic danger
generally comes in the form of
oppression and subtle attacks
on the word of God and faith.
In extreme cases, oppression
can manifest itself into a serious
problem that requires deliverance
through prayer and fasting
and even direct confrontation
with the evil spirit. The average
believer, however, will experience
subtle demonic activity in
his life as a matter of course, as
we all enter into times of temptation
and doubt. Jesus was
tempted in the wilderness and
stood His ground, quoting scripture
to defend against attack.
John the Baptist suffered from
doubt as he sat in Herod’s prison

ut sought his answers directly
from Jesus for reassurance. We
are not alone and we are not left
to fend for ourselves against the
forces of darkness. We have
the power of the Holy Spirit, we
have the Sword of Spirit which is
the Word of God and we have a
direct line of communication to
our Father in Heaven. We have
the full power of God in His Trinity.
The Father - God over us, the
Word(Jesus) – God with us, and
the Holy Spirit – God in us. We
are not to be given over to fear 2
Timothy 1:7 for God gave us a
spirit not of fear but of power and
love and self-control. Romans
8:37 No, in all these things
we are more than conquerors
through him who loved us.
To truly recognize evil in our
lives we must know truth.
Demonic oppression, attack and
even possession is deception
designed to destroy God’s most
precious creation, man. Society
has been deceived into believing
in ghosts and aliens and to even
accept such things as benefi cial.
Society has been deceived into
believing God is irrelevant and
man is the measure of all things.
Society has been deceived into
believing witchcraft, sorcery,
Ouija boards and séances are
harmless fun. As believers, we
do not need to know about specifi
c evil practices, we need to
know God’s word. The believer
is commanded to know scripture,
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your
best to present yourself to God
as one approved, a worker who
has no need to be ashamed,
rightly handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture
is breathed out by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in
righteousness, that the man of
God may be complete, equipped
for every good work. The idea,
is that we are so familiar with
what is true and from God that
we are able to recognize evil by
the very fact that it is not truth.
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever
is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is
lovely, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of
praise, think about these things.
It is essential that the Christ follower
is acquainted with Christ.
By avoiding the evil practices
outlined above, believers can
remove the threat of overt
demonic affl iction. Consequently,
by the nature of our salvation,
we have become enemies
of the forces of darkness whose
desire is too destroy mankind.
The Bible tells us that friendship
with the world is enmity with God
and the converse is also true.
The greatest defense against
demonic infl uence and activity is
a right relationship with God. As
a believer submits to the authority
of Jesus Christ and lives a
life of obedience to His word,
victory over sin and temptation
becomes the natural result. As
stated earlier, we are not to live
in fear of our enemy, Jesus has
already defeated Satan. We are
more than conquerers!
Paul Ahnert is a freelance writer
and author of an internationally
read blog:
www.ahnertthoughts.blogspot.
com Paul lives in Knoxville TN
with his wife and children and is

Give the “Gift” of FaithBox

Got Prayer?
What To Do When Prayers Go
Unanswered
By John Lysaught
John 15:7 (NIV): “If you remain
in me and my words remain in
you, ask whatever you wish, and
it will be done for you.”
I’ve read this verse before. I’m
sure you have to or have been
told by someone what it says.
You pray and pray but most of
the time it seems you don’t get
an answer. When your prayers
aren’t answered, it makes you
think you’re not a strong Christian
because the verse says if His
words remain in me… it will be
done. Humph. You may think if
the Word of God, the Scriptures,
are the infallible words from God,
what the heck? Why aren’t your
prayers being answered? What
did you do to deserve silence
regarding prayers? Prayed for
fi nancial peace but are in fi nancial
doom? I’m with you. Prayed
for good health only to be diagnosed
with some ailment? I hear
you. This can go on and on,
but the point is you may pray
for something but don’t receive
any response. Some people
get prayers answered and you
seemingly never do. Why is this?
What is going on? Does God
play favorites while toying with
others? Let’s stop right here for
a moment and look at this verse
a little more closely. Look at the

context of this verse in light of
what preceded this verse about
prayer.
This verse stems from the discussion
Jesus had regarding
Him being the vine and His followers
being the branch in the
vine in Chapter 15. Jesus says
verses 5:8,
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. If you do not remain in
me, you are like a branch that is
thrown away and withers; such
branches are picked up, thrown
into the fi re and burned. If you
remain in me and my words
remain in you, ask whatever you
wish, and it will be done for you.
This is to my Father’s glory, that
you bear much fruit, showing
yourselves to be my disciples.
In light of this, these verses are
in relation to the fruit we bear and
how praying in relation to our
fruit will be answered. This passage
is not about what we want
other than producing fruit. But
this doesn’t diminish the fact that
sometimes it seems prayers are
not answered. We still face this
dilemma of our prayers to God
and what we receive in response
is not up to par with our wants
and desires of our requests.
As I’m penning this, I can’t help
but look back at my prayer
life and refl ect. I pondered the
prayers that were answered and
the prayers that have not been
answered [yet]. What is the
reason for this? Honestly, I don’t
have the answer, but I can speculate
for those not having prayers
answered based on what the
Bible says. When I was in the
U.S. Army, as an offi cer, I had
to make decisions and answer
questions about various things. I
was told once that when I didn’t
make a decision or didn’t provide
an answer. that not giving an
answer was an answer. Not getting
an answer is not necessarily
not being heard but sometimes
no answer is the answer. Does
this mean God is saying yes or
no? I don’t know, I’m not God.
Yet in my mind when I don’t get
an answer, when I get nothing
but silence, that is my answer.
This is a hard concept to think
about but to me, silence isn’t
good or bad, it’s just silence. In
His silence, I have to trust there
is a reason beyond my comprehension
of why there is no
response. I would rather have a
big NO though. I can understand
“no” but it is the unspoken that is
hard to deal with. I believe part
of this silence is God’s way of
teaching us patience and trust.
Patience is diffi cult for us. In
our modern world, we get most
things instantly. Texts, emails,

packages delivered in a few
days, fast food, etc. Our concept
of what patience means is about
as long as the tip of our nose. We
want things now, not later. If we
have to wait for something, we
usually don’t want it or don’t try
and go somewhere else for what
we want. This attitude seeps
into our relationship with God.
We pray and expect a response
right away. We want to know
now, not later. We pray in ways
that require an answer from
God quickly. We forget that God
works on His timeline, not ours.
What we want now, God may not
answer for months or years. His
silence is not bad, it’s just when
we pray in the moment we feel
we need a quick response. We
must have patience that when
He hears our prayers, He will
answer when the time is right for
us. When we pray for immediate
answers and hear silence, it’s
in our mind that if God doesn’t
say anything He either didn’t
hear us or doesn’t care. When
it seems like God is going to wait
to answer our prayers instead of
when we want Him too, we want
Him to tell us our prayers will be
answered in such or such a time
so we can plan ahead to be ready
to hear Him. Yet He doesn’t tell
us when He will answer prayers
and when we don’t hear anything
when we want to hear something,
we tend to get frustrated.
When this happens we pray and
pray about the same thing, thinking
the more we pray about the
same thing, the more likely our
prayers will be heard above the
noise of the crowd. We will then
be likely to give up on our hope
of our prayers being answered
and lose hope in God. Patience
is a virtue is a true statement.
If we trust God will answer our
prayers, we must also be patient
to wait on His answer. I learned
this lesson and since have
become trusting and patient in
waiting for God to answer.
A prayer of mine was answered a
little over four years after I prayed
and heard nothing but silence.
To make a long story short, I
was in the Army, seven years
in. The Holy Spirit, very loudly
and clearly, put it on my heart to
resign my commission and leave
the army. I didn’t listen to him
at fi rst, but as time went by the
Holy Spirit’s voice got louder in
my heart and mind. Even though
I was scared of the unknown, I
prayed to God very earnestly of
why I was being urged to leave
the service. I heard nothing. Not
a peep or anything. I decided to
put my trust in the Lord, stepped
out in faith and resigned. No
job, no money but I got back
on my feet after a while. About
four years later, I had mostly
forgot about my prayer of why
He wanted me to leave the army
because life was going good for
me and my family. Then something
out of the blue occurred
and when it did, I immediately
knew that it was the answer to
my prayer years earlier of why
He wanted me out of the army.
How amazing God is! He didn’t
forget about me. He heard my
prayer and answered it- on His
timeline, not mine. He put me
where I needed to be and when
I needed to be for His response.
Why do I say this? Because there
are people who pray and seemingly
never get their prayers
answered. We need not give up
on God, we must be patient but
also need to learn to trust God.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says to trust in
Him with all our heart and not
to rely on our own understanding.
When we trust God, we are
putting our lives in His hands to
do what He knows is best for us.
You don’t have to know the Bible
verbatim. You don’t need to be
a Christian for a set amount of
time. You don’t have to stout in
your actions or thoughts every
moment of your life to pray.
Shoot, we are all human and
mess up more than we’d like
to admit. What I’m trying to tell
you is you can be just you, seeking
God and your relationship
with Him, not trying to be perfect.
Trusting God can be a leap
of faith for a new or seasoned
Christian. Giving everything over
to God can be diffi cult. Some
areas of our lives are easy for
us to give our trust to God and
in others areas we are scared
because we feel if they are diffi -
cult for us to deal with then it will
also be too hard for God.
Trusting God is akin to having
patience with Him. We need to
trust that God will answer our
prayers according to His will. In
the past, I wasn’t a great manager
of money- I’ll admit that.
Better than some, but worse than
others. When I’ve been in fi nancial
dire straits, I’ve prayed for
God to bail me out. He has never
bailed me out like I wanted Him
to, but He answered my prayer
nonetheless. My money troubles
didn’t magically go away, but my
prayers were answered through
Him allowing me to go through
my tribulation to learn how to
better manage myself fi nancially.
When I apply what I learned, my
fi nances got better. Then I pray
again for something else and
He answers me in His own way
whether it is wisdom, learning
from failures, or other things.

You may say that is a stretch or it
is means to justify the ends when
prayers are answered in other
ways than what I wanted, but it
isn’t. God answers prayer differently
for each person. There isn’t
some cookie cutter response for
our prayers. There is no standard
line for everyone. Each one
of us is unique and the answers
to our prayers are custom fi tted
to each of us.
You may say that is me and
good for me, but not for you. You
tell yourself your prayers never
get answered. But really, do they
not? We want answers now but
have you looked back after some
time and seen that your prayer
was answered? Maybe not the
way you wanted but answered
nonetheless? Did your prayers
get answered in God’s way and
not yours? For instance, maybe
you have an ailment that doesn’t
go away, that you aren’t healed
from. You pray over and over
again for healing but it doesn’t
come. But something else
changes instead, maybe you
are better able to endure than
before. When we don’t get what
we want we must remember that
we can’t question God’s will. His
will for you may not be healing but
endurance or some other reason
not revealed yet. I have multiple
health problems that cause a lot
of pain and fatigue. I’ve prayed
for healing but, like some of you,
I am not healed. I’ve accepted
that I probably won’t be healed
and am reminded of the Apostle
Paul’s ailment that he ask three
times for God to heal him, but
God told Paul His grace was
enough and His power is made
perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians
12:7-10). So instead praying
for healing, I pray for the
strength to endure my suffering.
By doing so, my prayer has been
answered. I can endure now
better than I was able to before.
Not only this, but being able to
endure brought me closer to
God because I learned to endure
by leaning on God’s love and
strength and not my own or the
world’s. Also from my ailments,
God has given me a heart for
people with illnesses. When
they feel hopeless and abandoned
by God, I can give them
comfort and talk to them about
God and what He offers for those
in pain and suffering. Is it possible
that you may be praying for
the wrong thing? Maybe instead
of praying that God bail you out
of debt, you should pray He help
you manage your budget better.
Instead of praying for the healing
you have not received, pray for
the ability to get through it.
We are told by the Bible to pray
unceasingly in 1 Thessalonian
5:17. Does this mean you’re on
your knees all day or in deep
thought of God all day? No,
but God can always be on your
mind. We all day dream or our
thoughts drift from this or that
throughout the day. Train yourself
when your mind begins to
drift, to drift to the things of God.
Give Him praise, thank Him for
what He has done in your life,
and ask for guidance from Himbasically,
talk to Him. There
should be times when you do
focus strictly on God. In Matthew
6:6, Jesus tells us to go into our
rooms and pray in secret. Some
people call this their prayer time
or prayer closet. Whatever you
call it, the theme is the samehaving
quiet and uninterrupted
time with God. Yes, we all have
busy lives but I’m sure there are
times in the morning or evening
to spend exclusively with God.
Maybe getting up a little bit earlier
is best for you. Me, I’m not a
morning person until after a lot
of coffee so my time is at night
before I go to bed. I like to read
the Bible and ponder His words.
Then I worship, praise, and ask
for help or guidance in areas of
my life where I’m weak or need
wisdom from Him. When I start
the day, I give a quick prayer
that His will be done in me that
day and talk to Him throughout
the day. When you’re praying
though, don’t just go through
the motions. Pray earnestly with
your heart and soul to God. God
doesn’t want you to pray to Him
for the purpose of praying out of
obligation. He wants us to pray
from our hearts. He wants us to
rely on Him through prayer so we
can learn to trust Him, recieve
His wisdom and His guidance in
all areas of our lives.
If you don’t think your prayers are
being answered, relook those
thoughts. Just because God
didn’t answer you the way you
wanted or has not answered you
yet doesn’t mean He didn’t hear
you. God is with you always.
God answers prayers in His own
ways and on His own timeline.
We must be patient and trust
that God hears all of our prayers
and will answer them. When you
pray, keep your heart and ears
open. God’s answer may be a
shout or a whisper. Regardless
of, listen for Him. Listen to your
heart and you will hear Him. God
Bless.

The Cheque is in the Mail
Does God Reward Those That Have Faith But No Action?
By Chris Benton
believe one of the most misguided
beliefs of Christians
is the notion that we can just
have faith and do nothing and
still watch what you want come
into fruition. How many times
do you see people at sit home
saying God will lead them out of
their situation, but all they do is
sit there? This is not how God
works. We have to meet him in
order to activate faith. It is faith
with action that changes everything!
James 2:20 But do you want to
know, O foolish man, that faith
without works is dead?
That verse pretty much says it
all. Yes, we have to have faith
but without works it is dead.
Imagine saying you need a job
and you are praying every e day

But do you want to know, O foolish
man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:20
that God will send you that job. If
all you do is pray but never leave
your home, will that job come
to you? The odds are that you
will not get a job because things
don’t just come.
God wants us to do what we can
do with our actions and then he
will step in and do what we can’t.
This is the way it happened all
throughout the Bible. No matter
what part you read, you fi gure
out that when miracles happened,
there was always some
kind of action mixed with faith
that led to that miracle.
Why do people believe this? I
think sometimes we can get a
little lazy and just want things
to happen without much effort.
Nothing worthwhile happens
without action. Yes, you can
see great things happen in your
life but the action always has to
come fi rst! Sometimes we get
so comfortable with the way life
is that we just use our faith as
a comfort meter. Many feel if
they believe and if God wants
something to happen then it will
happen, but if it doesn’t happen
then that just means God is not
for what was believed.
That is such false thinking
because you can’t believe your
way to any kind of success. Yes,
we have to believe. That is so
important because if you take
action but don’t believe then you
will sabotage what you are trying
to do without realizing it.
Another reason is because
some of the prosperity preaching
teaches this. First, I am not
against preaching prosperity as
I understand that God can bless
us as his children. I get that, but
when some of these preachers
mix truth with some twisting of
truth then we have a problem.
Many Christians are guided the
wrong way with wrong beliefs.
We must not just listen to
preachers, but also study the
Word for ourselves too. We must
ask God for the wisdom to discern
truth from half-truths. Many
of these preachers are teaching
truth from the Bible but they are
misrepresenting how that truth is
supposed to be interpreted. That
is where the problem begins.
I believe that God wants to do
the impossible through us as
long as we take the fi rst steps
which means action. We can’t
just sit around. If we want that
job then we have to pray and
believe, but then go look for that
job. If we want that promotion at
work we can’t just believe but
also go above and beyond the
work that is required and the
promotion will come. We can’t
just lay around believing that our
future will work out because God
will take care of us. We have to
also put the action behind doing
something for our future while
God blesses us.
God wants to meet you where
you are but you can’t expect him
to do it all. He expects you to do
your part because without that
you aren’t really activating faith.
You are just living in a fantasy
land that God has no part in.
Think about this, will you reward
your child if he does nothing?
Why not? Because it will ruin
your child for the future. This
is the same reason God is not
going to reward you for not taking
action. He knows it will ruin you
if you get something for nothing.
This isn’t saying that sometimes
a need may happen and something
comes your way. Yes, God
will bring things in that mannerner
but the truth is, if you don’t take
action nothing comes your way.
Even with coming to Christ, you
have to take action towards that.
You have to accept Christ into
your heart which is an action.
You have to repent ent which is an
action. You have to act in orderr
to receive. That is how everything
works. The more action
you take, the more chances you
give God to bless you.
Have you ever noticed that it
seems like the harder you work
on something the luckier you
seem to get? People around
you don’t see the hard work you
are putting in. They only see the
results side of things. They look
at this as he is being blessed left
and right for not doing much, but
you know the truth. You know
that you have put in your time!

Many people see only the end
result of years of daily grunt
work. They see the story but not
the pain. They see you after God
has taken years to prune you.
They see the light in you but fail
to realize the darkness you went
through. They see the diamond
in you but forget that you once
were a lump of coal! They see
something great but can’t see
the years of miserable events
that happened in your life. They
see the person you are today
without thinking about where
you used to be!
As we grow spiritually, we start
to realize that, yes, it is good
to listen and watch preachers
preach. At the same time, we
have to learn and take in what
God wants us to take in. It is
by our actions that our lives will
change. We can’t just say poof
and everything comes to us, but
in time through taking action
everyday, we can eventually live
the life that God called us to live!
As God right now to give you the
strength to take the actions necessary
to walk in his calling. Ask
him to help you discern what you
hear and read so that you know
where to go from here. Ask him
to help you not to stay in your
comfort-zone so that you can
become all that he called you to
be!
Now go out and take massive
action and watch what God can
and will do through you. He’s
ready to take you to the next
level if you allow him to. He’s
ready to take you to places you
only dreamed of, but fi rst you
must activate faith by taking
action towards where God is
calling you to go!
Living a God-Inspired Life,
Chris Benton
Facebook: @TheChrisBenton
Twitter: @TheChrisBenton.com
Web: TheChrisBenton.com
I am Chris Benton. I run a Christian
Blog and am launching a
marriage ministry because God’s
purpose for mine and my wife’s
life is to help marriages. I have
been writing for several years
now and have found a great
passion in writing so because of
that I am writing a book on my
19 years of addiction that I fi nally
walked away from over 8 years
ago! I have also started creating
short video messages too.

Beating or Flatlined?
Does your faith have a strong or weak pulse?
By Randy Williams

Today, we seem to have
a symptom checker for
everything. Maybe it’s
the American do-ityourselfer
attitude that
drives it. Every good
product manual comes
with a troubleshooting
section, a flow chart of
common problems and how to
resolve them. Our self-reliance
seems to drive our curiosity and
determination to take care of it
ourselves. WebMD came up
fi rst when I Googled “self-diagnosis.”
Followed by many articles
warning of “self-diagnosis.”
One problem not mentioned
in any of the warning articles
is, if you don’t know you have
a problem, you’ll never consult
one. Often times doctors
catch things early because of a
checkup or routine lab work.
I want to offer a spiritual symptom
checker that you can use
to check the strength, or presence,
of faith. A word of caution:
this is a self-symptom
checker and can only be used
by you, on you. This is not to

diagnose anyone else. You may
ask another spiritual person to
evaluate you if you like, but you
may not diagnose anyone without
their permission.
Beliefs lead to action. Follow my
logic for a minute. My basketball
playing son, and his friends,
believe they can make a basket
when they shoot the ball. Admittedly,
football’s always been my
sport of choice. I’ve never cared
much for baseball or basketball
until my son took up basketball.
Up until then, I didn’t even
know the rules, I just knew their
shoes squeaked so loud on TV, I
couldn’t hear what the announcers
were saying, and it always
looked like they were fouling
each other. But, I discovered it’s
a good sport for young men to
burn their excessive energy, so
I’m a fan now. They still look like
they’re all fouling each other, but
I’ve discovered I enjoying watching
people I know play the game.
One thing that shocked me, is
fi nding out that a 30% shooting
average was pretty good percentage.
In the NBA closer to
50%.
Even with a low rate of success,
they believe. Therefore, they do.
For good reason they believe;
they can make those shots.
I’ve seen countless practices,
with many more to come. This
summer I’ll probably see plenty
of training camps. You can tell
the serious players from the
ones who are just there because
their parents dropped them off to
give them something to do. The
serious ones play with intensity.
They listen to the coach. They
ask questions. They practice the
drills and try out new techniques.
They linger around after the
others have gone home. Some
aren’t even naturally athletic, but
they have a desire, at their core.
They believe: in themselves,
the team, the coach; their belief
results in action.
It’s really that way with anything
isn’t it? We have to believe—
just a little bit—before we do
anything. The pitch man on TV
convinces us that glue will keep
a boat from sinking, so we order
it. We believe that pillow will give
us a better night sleep; so we
order it. We believe our doctor,
so we take the medicine s/he
recommends.
When we put something into
practice, if our belief is reinforced,
we’ll do it again, and
again. Some things I believe in
I use without much thought. I’ve
experienced the effect of gravity
so often now, know my glass will
fall off the edge of the table if I
don’t make sure it’s fi rmly on a
fl at surface. So, instinctively I put
it in a secure spot.
What do you believe in? Is it
really fair to say, “your actions
speak louder than words?” In
every area of life, we say, “show
me by doing,” “put your money
where your mouth is,” or something
along that line.
Yet somehow, when it comes to
spiritual things, we want to set
logic aside, and substitute it with
feelings only, or “I think so.” “I
think; therefore, I am.”
So, when you question your
faith? Check your actions. Take
a look at what you’re doing. At
tax time the church sends out
their required charitable contributions
statement. I really do
give more than what’s recorded,
because I often just place cash
in the offering plate. I sometimes
help someone without
the church’s knowledge, give to
other churches, and send money
to other ministries that aren’t
refl ected where I normally go to
church. I don’t want to be legalistic,
and I don’t give in order to
get—even the tax break—but it’s
humbling to see that total on the
contribution form nonetheless.
So, what does it say about me?
Does a big contribution mean I’m
more saved than someone with
a small one? Of course not. It
doesn’t have anything to do with
salvation; nor does it have anything
to do with sacrifi ce (widows
mite verse). It might reveal how
important I really feel about the
church’s ministry. By telling me if
I’m tithing or not, it could say to
me how much I really trust God
to provide my needs, and if I’m
giving from my abundance, or
giving under compulsion.
Beyond the logic, what does
scripture say about faith and
works? The fi rst passage that
might come to mind is from the
New Testament book of James:
“What good is it, my brothers,
if someone says he has faith
but does not have works? Can
that faith save him? If a brother
or sister is poorly clothed and
lacking in daily food, and one of
you says to them, “Go in peace,
be warmed and fi lled,” without
giving them the things needed
for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does
not have works, is dead.” James
2:14-17
Works do not save us, our faith

does. What are works anyway? I
think of it like this: everything we
say, and everything we do that
is consistent with Christ; consciously
or not, that is works. We
need to understand realize this,
in order to understand the spiritual
implications of them.
Jesus said it most clearly in John
15:1-17, by using an analogy of
branches and the vine. Believers,
when we are saved, are
engrafted into the vine (Christ).
We maintain that health by tending
to ourselves: prayer, selfrefl
ection, Bible study, more
self-refl ection, prayer…
A healthy branch doesn’t have
to try to produce fruit, it can’t
help it, it’s just what they do. But,
at the same time, no branch is
independent, or can bear fruit
by itself. We must be engrafted;
we cannot avoid producing.
Producing fruit is a branch’s
purpose and nature. In fact, a
branch that’s not bearing fruit is
worthless, pruned, or bundled
up an burned with the brush.
I like this image because the
emphasis is on abiding in Christ.
When you place the emphasis
on being, rather than doing,
the byproduct is not where the
attention goes.
When we’re engrafted in Christ,
His Spirit lives within us. We
become one with Him, and His
Body, the Church. Philippians
1:9-11 says:
“And it is my prayer that your
love may abound more and
more, with knowledge and all
discernment, so that you may
approve what is excellent, and
so be pure and blameless for
the day of Christ, fi lled with the
fruit of righteousness that comes
through Jesus Christ, to the glory
and praise of God.”
Galatians 5:22-25 gives a snapshot
of a Spirit fi lled life: “love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control…”
Ephesians 2:10 says we’ve been
created for good works.
Whether our faith is alive or
dead can best by measured by
the fruit produced in our lives. If
the Holy Spirit is active, guiding
our thoughts—therefore behaviors—our
faith is alive and well.
Otherwise, it is dead. If it’s dead,
why is it dead. Were we engrafted
in the fi rst place? Have we failed
to maintain the grafted area to
produce a healthy branch.
Ephesians chapter 2 makes
it very clear that our works in
no way relates to our salvation
because apart from Christ we
are dead—and not capable of
good works—after our salvation,
we can perform good works. It’s
expected that we will because
our nature has changed. We are
a refl ection of Christ, but these
works come as an overfl ow of
a changed heart. That’s how
we are known by our fruits, or
salt and light to the world. Good
works apart from the Spirit living
through us are as fi lthy rags
(Isaiah 64:6). They are insuffi -
cient, Jesus died and rose again
to do good works

Faith or Own Streng
Which One Are You Operating In
By Remaliah Evans
Listen to what you are saying
and pay attention to what
you are thinking. A telltale
sign is if you are constantly
saying or thinking, “I’m tired”.
Now you may be legitimately
tired. The question is why are
you tired? Are you tired because
you are working long hours and
loosing sleep? Or do you feel
drained no matter how much
sleep or rest you seem to get?
I can work long hours for a period
of time, however it is not healthy
to work long hours and remain
sleep deprived on an extended
basis. For several years I kept
two jobs and eventually I felt the
Lord telling me to quit the second
job. I did not quit my second
job because I wanted the extra
disposable income. One day
I fell asleep while driving and I
crashed into a road sign. Fortunately
no one was hurt except
my little Corolla.
The Lord told me to quit my job
because He knew I was not

th
?
sleeping enough, and because
quitting my job would require
me to develop the discipline to
budget and also trust Him to
provide. Disclaimer: I am not
instructing you quit your job. In
my case I knew that God was
telling me quit my second job
and I was disobedient. Having
a second job was me operating
out of my own strength because
one, I did not ask God if should
take a second job, and two I
never went to God and asked
Him to help me fi nancially.
It is not a far-fetched idea that
God would provide for us. He
provided for Jacob, Esther,
Joseph, Daniel, Moses and the
widow who nearly lost her sons.
Many times we operate out of
our own strength because we
do not believe that God will help
us in certain areas of lives. But
God is a good Father and like
a good father He is concerned
with every area of our lives.
Yes, I was legitimately tired
because I was working two jobs,
however when I quit my second
job I had time to sleep and I was
no longer tired. I am a recovering
workaholic and I enjoy working
because it is easier to work
and accomplish work goals, than
it is to deal with problems, character
flaws, and develop meaningful
relationships. When I work
excessively, I am operating out
of my own strength. The Lord
says to work as if I am working
unto Him. There are times when
God will instruct us to do works
that require immense time and
energy, however when we are
acting in obedience to Him, and
when we are fully submitted to
what He asks us to do, I fi nd that
there is a grace to do the work.
I have been blessed to help organize
a few large events. Over
four to six months, this involves
a myriad of emails, meetings,
follow up calls, trainings, creating
forms, and dealing with a
slew of vendors. While there
are definitely a few late nights,
for the most part I do not realize
how tired I am until after the
event. Typically the day after the
event I crash and I am in wonder
at all that God allowed our team
to accomplish. After one or two
days of rest following the event,
I am refreshed and fully recovered.
This is not adrenaline, it is the
grace of God that rests upon us
when we are obedient. When
we are obedient and seek Him
fi rst, He is faithful to strengthen
us. The word says seek fi rst the
kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all these things
will be added to us. The kingdom
of God is the rule and the reign of
God, and righteousness is to be
in right relationship with God. So
when I seek fi rst the kingdom of
God and His righteousness I am
saying,” Lord, fi rst I seek You so
that You so that You will rule and
reign in my heart and in my life,
I am submitted to You. Above all
else, I want to be in right relationship
with You.”
When we do this, then all these
things will be added to us. In
reading Matthew 6:31-33 we
fi nd that the “things” referred
to are food, water, and clothing,
in other words necessities.
God’s strength and grace are
also necessities because we are
called to do life WITH Him.

Another sign that we are operating
out of our own strength is
when we continuously say or
think “I can’t do this.” When we
say we cannot do something we
are likely operating out of own
strength because we are relying
solely on ourselves. First, we
must believe His promises that
the steps of the righteous are
ordered by the Lord, and that
Lord leads us along the path that
is best for our life. Thus, wherever
the Lord leads us is ultimately
benefi cial. Second, regardless
of what it feels like, God’s intentions
for us are always good. He
does not set us up for failure and
wait for our demise.
To rely on God we need faith.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing
by the word of God. The word
says that we can do all things
though Christ who strengthens
us. We must change our thought
patterns and speech. Whenever
we hear ourselves say or think “I
can’t do this” we can immediately
say out loud, “I can do all things
through Christ who strengthens
me.”
I hate public speaking; it is scary
and nerve wracking. I become
nervous and speak extremely
fast, there are awkward pauses,
and even more awkward endings.
I am on a team that shares
a brief word of encouragement
with my church about once per
month. Every single time I tell
myself I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me. As
I tell myself this, I realize that
I am not alone and that He is
here to help me. It also reminds
me that it is not about me, it is
about what He wants to communicate
through me. My motivation
shifts from simply wanting
to be a good public speaker; my
mindset shifts from performance
to believing that God will use
me to bring encouragement and
hope as I share His word. It is
not magic. I did not declare, “I
can do all things thought Christ
who strengthens me” and poof!
I was suddenly a prolifi c public
speaker. However over the past
two years I have grown slightly
more comfortable with public
speaking and I am improving as
my confi dence remains in Him
and I ask Him to give me the
words to speak.
If we believe His word then we
will speak, pray, and declare His
word over our lives. Even when
life does not work out the way
we want, when we declare and
believe His word, we are operating
in faith and we learn to focus
on Him, and not our problems
or disappointments. We learn
to trust Him and His love for us
despite tragedy and opposition.
We learn to walk in faith and walk
in His strength because trying to
do it on our own strength is maddening.
The hardest thing I’ve been
through was when my Mom
died. I was an adult and she had
been sick for several years, however
her death was sudden and
I was livid, confused, bitter, and
for the fi rst time I felt like life just
stopped for a while. I had never
planned to live without my Mom.
She was supposed to be at my
wedding and hold my children,
and she was supposed to be
around when I threw her a huge
60th birthday bash.
After years of holding in my emotions,
suddenly my emotions
would no longer go ignored.
And for many months following
my Mom’s death I had to keep
choosing to seek God for His
strength and His direction. I went
to God with my unforgiveness,
rage, bitterness, and questions
because I knew that there was
no way that I could make it
through such loss without Him.
It was either go to Him for His
strength, or be devoured by bitterness
and sorrow. During that
time I had faith in His promise
that He would perfect that which
concerns me…. and He did.
How do we stop relying on ourselves
and walk in faith? This is
something that I am still learning
to do. It happens as we choose
to seek God and trust God one
decision at a time. I started a
new job as an administrator a
few months ago, after having
been at my previous job for 10
years. I went from being the
person who trained seasoned
employees in my old position,
to be being the new kid on the
block in my current position. I
am surrounded by people that
are drastically more experienced
and wiser than I am. Each day I
am learning just how much I do
not know and oftentimes I sit at
my desk and ask God for help.
I work with gracious people who
train and guide me, yet there are
certain decisions that I make
and am ultimately responsible
for, such as building repairs.
Historically, a downstairs area of
the building experienced leaks
during heavy rains. In order to fi x
this problem rain water from the
neighboring property needed to
be diverted away from the building.
In my efforts to solve the
problem over a period of three
months I met with a cement

contractor, two general contractors,
a plumber, a roofer, and
consulted with co-workers. They
each offered a different solution
and none of these solutions were
cheap. Throughout this process,
some days I was very stressed
out and worried, especially when
it rained.
These were
the days that
I was operating
out
of my own
strength,
scrambling
to fi x
the problem
without
seeking
God. Other
days, I was
at peace.
These were
days where
I talked with
God and
prayed, the
days that
I gave the
problem to
God and
trusted Him
to be my
ever-present
Help.
I wish I could
say that
everyday I
trusted Him however that was
not what happened. It seemed I
only decided to trust Him when I
was exasperated and when I felt
I was out of options. Throughout
the months I was vacillating
between trust and fear. Yet, it
always came down to a decision.
The decision to believe His word
and act accordingly. Guess what
happened? The owner of the
neighboring property ended up
building a drain in the problem
area because they had experienced
leaks as well. This solution
did not cost my employer a
penny!
Now, I can be a bit pessimistic
at times so when this occurred
I was greatly relieved and I was
also a bit miffed at God. Why did
I have to spend the past three
months working on this problem
when all along He knew the
neighbor would take care of it?
The Lord showed me that during
the three months I gained muchneeded
knowledge about the
building, and that I had to learn
to trust Him because the problem
was not solved right away.
Faith without works is dead. I had
faith in God to solve the problem,
and the works were to not stress
out when I received expensive
estimates to fi x the leak or when
it took much longer than anticipated
to resolve the problem.
The works
were to keep
praying and
believing
that God
would lead
me to right
contractor
as I sought
out referrals.
We walk in
faith one
decision,
one step,
and one
moment at
a time. And
as we see
God’s faithfulness,
faith
becomes a
way of life
because
we discover
that His
word is true
and that He
is trustworthy.
We walk
in faith when
we walk in
agreement with Him and His
word.
Bio: Remaliah Evans is an
administrator by day and writer
by night. She enjoys encouraging
others, teaching, serving on
the Life Builder Seminars team,
and sharing cheesy jokes. http://
lifebuilderseminars.com

Critical Con
A Christian Par
Discussing H
with T
If you won’t discuss
homosexuality with
your childen, someone
else’s values may be
imparted to them.
Can you afford to take
that chance?
By Micayla Greathouse
Interview with Tom Gilson
It is tough being a parent today,
especially with the issue of
homosexuality as such a prominent
topic in the Western world.
How are Christians supposed to
handle this matter? What kind
of conversations should Christian
parents be having with their
kids? What about political correctness?
Author Tom Gilson addresses
these questions and so much
more in his book, Critical Conversations:
A Christian Parents’
Guide to Discussing Homosexuality
with Teens. In this interview
with Faith Filled Family, Tom
shares a bit more about his pur-

versations:
ents’ Guide to
mosexuality
eens
poses for writing the book, challenges
he has faced, and the
practicality in dealing with this
subject.
What prompted you to write
this book?
Two streams came together.
First, I really want to help people
stay strong in the faith — especially
young people. God is
greater than any of us can imagine,
and too many are thinking
of Him as less than real. This is
especially true of youth.
Second, through dialoging with
atheists and skeptics for years
on my Thinking Christian blog
(thinkingchristian.net), I’ve discovered
that many people consider
God and His word as
irrelevant or even harmful and
evil, especially when it comes to
questions about homosexuality
and same-sex marriage. Some
people who believe this way
are barraging Christians with
charges such as, you’re haters,
you’re intolerant, you’re homophobic,
you’re on the wrong
side of history, and on and on

and on. They’re causing Christians
to shrink back in doubt and
sometimes even to reject belief
in Christ altogether.
These questions have answers.
There’s no need to doubt God’s
reality and his surpassing goodness.
But people need to hear
those answers. I wrote Critical
Conversations to parents
because I think they’re the most
strategic route through which
youth might be able to learn that
God is really true and He is really
good.
Parents sometimes avoid
addressing tough subjects such
as homosexuality and gay marriage
with their kids. Given how
diffi cult it is to talk about, why
would a parent even want to
have these “critical conversations”?
Parents sometimes avoid the
subject because it’s as awkward
as it could be, and it’s a contentious
issue, often with one generation
pitted against another.
Parents fear it will start out bad
and get worse. Above all they’re
not sure they have what it takes
to explain why they believe what
they believe.
There’s an awful lot at stake.
Teens are typically suspicious of
the way Christians treat LGBT
people, and they see themselves
as morally advanced on this
topic, compared to their parents’
generation. Tragically, for many
this separates them from their
own church, from their parents
and most signifi cantly from belief
in Christ himself. However, with
proper equipping, these critical
conversations can draw teens
back into closer relationship with
their parents and give them new
confi dence to stay connected
with Christ and Christianity.
How is the design of Critical
Conversations different than
other parenting books?
The book is written in three parts:
1.Understanding the issues
(reasons for biblical morality and
a brief social history of gay activism).
2. Navigating the rocky relationships:
how parents can help
teens live in the real relationships
they’ll fi nd themselves in.
3. Practical help in handling the
challenges.
This third part is where the book
is really unique. It lists more than
two dozen anti-Christian challenges
and explains briefly where
these challenges go wrong. But
that’s not all. If it were, it would
be just another piece of information
for parents to absorb.
Instead with each one of these
challenges I include “Conversation
Coaching,” advice for parents
on specifi cally what they
can say to their teens to help
them deal with the challenge. It’s
extremely parent-friendly and
practical in that sense.
What was the biggest challenge
you faced in writing
this?
I had the book virtually fi nished
last Spring, but the Supreme
Court announced its intention
to render a decision on samesex
marriage in June. My publisher
at Kregel and I decided it
would be best to wait and fi nish
the book after the decision was
announced, then deliver the fi nal
manuscript soon after. There
was a mad scramble to bring the
book up to speed, to refl ect the
Court’s decision to allow samesex
marriage.
Christians are often painted
as being prejudiced and out of
touch for their beliefs. Is there
a way to speak truth about
homosexuality without being
perceived as hateful or homophobic?
There are actually a couple of
questions that come before that
one. Can we speak out about it
without actually being hateful or
homophobic? The answer to that
is yes, certainly. We disagree
with LGBT advocates, sure. But
that isn’t automatically hateful or
phobic. If it were, then they would
also be automatically hateful and
phobic for disagreeing with us. I
don’t think they think that’s true
of ourselves, and I don’t think
that’s usually true of them, either.
The second question is whether
we can speak out without being
perceived as hateful or homophobic.
I think in personal friendships
we can often do this. In
larger contexts, we’ll probably
be perceived in all kinds of bad
ways, and the best thing we
can do about it is to make sure
we’re living in Christian integrity
no matter what people say
about us. We can also make our
case for our position respectfully,
knowledgeably and with conviction.
This book helps with that.
Back to the original question.
Some Christians have unfortunately
acted in hateful and
homophobic ways. (I don’t usually
like to use that term, but it
does fi t sometimes.) That’s a
matter for increased knowledge
and for repentance.

When writing, were you at all
concerned by any potential
opposition you might face
from those who don’t agree
with you?
Yes. Early on my wife actually
asked me not to write Critical
Conversations. We prayed it
through and came to agreement
that somebody had to write a
book like this, and we couldn’t
discern any reason why I should
let someone else bear that load
(and also the privilege of standing
strong for our great Savior)
instead. I still am concerned for
the long run. My main concern
has to do with my position being
so readily identifi able if someday
the opposition heats up even
worse. God is good enough to
handle that though.
What was one of your favorite
or most rewarding parts of
writing this book?
Sending in the completed manuscript!
I enjoyed working with
the Kregel team to get it ready,
especially all their encouragement
along the way.
It was also gratifying to have
the opportunity to gather all my
thoughts on this highly contentious
issue into one place. I
was able to study the reasons
behind the biblical view of marriage
and morality and to know
it’s really true and good in spite
of others’ views on it. In the end,
I was able to examine 27 different
charges laid against Christianity
by pro-LGBT activists and
show that God’s word and God’s
way stands up solidly against all
of them. It was good to see how
well all the parts come together
so strongly.
If you had to simplify your
argument in support of biblical
marriage into a few sentences,
what would they be?
God gave us plenty of good
reasons in both the Old and
New Testament to know that he
designed sex to be for a married
couple, and that he designed
marriage to be for a man and
a woman. It’s in Leviticus, in
Jesus’ teaching on marriage and
all over the Pauline epistles.
Marriage between a man and a
woman is good. It’s a comprehensive
human good that supports
the nurturance of children
and the growth of strong communities.
Because children come
out of marriages (normally),
marital love is an outward-looking
form of love, in contrast to
the inward-looking and comparatively
self-focused “just you and
me, babe,” form of relationship
found in non-marital sexual relationships,
whether heterosexual
or homosexual. Children thrive
in homes with a mom and a dad.
So there are both biblical and
non-biblical (common experience)
reasons working together
to make the point.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can fi nd out more about Critical
Conversations by going to
www.criticalconversationsbook.
com or on Twitter (@Thnkng-
Christian).
Tom Gilson is the Senior Editor
and Ministry Coordinator for the
top conservative daily online
news and insight website The
Stream. A 36-year veteran of
ministry leadership with Cru,
BreakPoint and Ratio Christi,
Gilson holds a Master’s degree
in organizational psychology.
He’s the author of Critical Conversations:
A Christian Parents’
Guide to Discussing Homosexuality
with Teens. He lives with
wife, Sara, in Lebanon, Ohio.
They have two college-aged
children.
A special thanks to Tom Gilson
for interviewing with FFFM, and
to Audra Jennings and Christine
Muller for coordinating the interview.
Blessings to you!
To Purchase on
Amazon.com,
Please Click
Here
To Purchase on
Christian Book.
com, Please
Click Here

Maintaining a
Spirit of Peace
By Henry Miranda
What are the effects of
fear on our bodies?
How does it wear us
down, and how can we spiritually
build ourselves up?
Have you ever walked down a
dark street by yourself? If you
ever have, at one time or another
you probably had the feeling that
someone may be following you,
or that someone may be trying
to rob you. It’s scary walking
late at night alone. Nobody likes
that feeling of being alone and
scared. Fear can be an awful
thing, but Fear can also prepare
us to react to danger. Like
all emotions, fear can be mild,
medium, or intense, depending
on the situation and the person.
A feeling of fear can be brief or it
can last longer. It is a basic survival
mechanism that signals our
bodies to respond to danger.
Fear is a human emotion that is
triggered by a perceived threat.
It is programmed into the nervous
system and works like an
instinct. From the time we’re
infants, we are equipped with the
survival instincts necessary to
respond with fear when we sense
danger or feel unsafe. However,
people who live in constant fear,
whether from physical dangers
in their environment or threats
they perceive, can become incapacitated.
However, living under
constant fear can weaken our
immune system and can cause
cardiovascular damage, gastrointestinal
problems such as
ulcers and irritable bowel syndrome,
and decreased fertility.
Other consequences of longterm
fear include fatigue, clinical
depression, accelerated ageing,
and even premature death.
Feeling afraid is very natural and
can be helpful in some situations,
but it can cause some serious
damage if left unchecked. Fear
can be like a warning, a signal
that cautions us to be careful.

Why worry about problems
that cannot be changed? For
example, what might happen
in the future, and everything in
between?
Fear helps protect us. It makes
us alert to danger and prepares
us to deal with it. Prolonged fear
can cause a lot of damage to our
bodies.
Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV) Fear not,
for I am with you; be not dismayed,
for I am your God. I will
strengthen you, Yes, I will help
you, I will uphold you with My
righteous right hand.’
As Children of God, we are not
to live in Fear, Some normal
fears seem pretty much like a
worry. ” Some of us worry more
than others. Worrying can affect
our day to day activities in life.
Some people believe they have
serious issues to worry about.
Like family, fi nancial burdens,
health, and just the everyday
stress of life. Didn’t Jesus say
“cast all your burdens on me?” (1
Peter 5:7). An anonymous writer
said this: “Worry is a futile thing,
it’s something like a rocking chair,
it will keep you occupied but it
won’t get you anywhere”. Worry
has become an obsession in our
modern world. A look at the selfhelp
section in any bookstore
will reveal its prevalence. Hospitals
and waiting rooms are fi lled
with people who have, physical
problems caused by overwhelming
anxiety. In addition, there are
many people whose lives are
disrupted or made unenjoyable
because of paralyzing fear. Most
of us like to hide our worry by
labeling it “Christian concern”. In
spite of protestations to the contrary,
most of us do worry, but,
do we have to? Not if we learn
from Jesus how to win over
worry. Jesus’ “Sermon on the
Mount” is intensely practical. He
deals with the practical problem
of anxiety. If He taught about it,
that means He cares about it.
There is no shortage of things to
worry about. In the Bible, Jesus
mentions several matters of
common concern: Life--- Health
--- Possessions and we can add
our own list of concerns: Accidents---
Aging--- Weather--- Criticism
There is nothing that can
be accomplished by worrying,
because it is senseless.
In fact, it may well take away

from your life. Worrying is both
mentally and physically harmful
worrying makes us look like the
heathen, so destroys our witness.
Shouldn’t we as Christian
live differently than those who
have no relationship with God?
As Christians, we must trust our
Heavenly Father to provide for
us as he has promised.
Our only concern as Christians
should be to Seek Jesus and his
kingdom and then all the things
we need, will be added to us.
We must learn as Christians to
live one day at a time. We must
handle each worry as it comes.
Many will never come to pass,
and those that do occur can only
be handled in the present
T
he worry-free life provides freedom
for us Christians and a good
example for those who aren’t. It’s
hard to imagine Jesus worrying.
If we want to be truly Christ like,
we must resist the temptation to
worry. Worrying accomplishes
absolutely nothing. Worrying
won’t help you solve a problem
or bring about a solution, so why
waste your time and energy on
worrying?
Worrying is not good, because it
is destructive to us in so many
ways. It becomes a mental
burden that can even cause us
to grow physically sick. Proverbs
12:25. Worrying is the opposite
of trusting God. The energy that
we spend worrying can be put
too much better use in prayer
and supplication. Philippians
4:6-7 worry places your focus in
the wrong direction. Don’t worry
about anything; instead, pray
about everything. Tell God what
you need, and thank him for
all He has done. Then you will
experience God’s peace, which
exceeds anything we can understand.
His peace will guard your
hearts and minds as you live in
Jesus. When we keep our eyes
focused on Jesus, and remember
His love for us, we will realize
that we don’t have anything
to worry about. God has a wonderful
plan for our lives, and part
of that plan includes taking care
of us. Even in the diffi cult times,
when it seems like God doesn’t
care, we can put our trust in the
Lord and focus on His Kingdom.
God will take care of our every
need. Instead of worrying we
should be busy preparing for the
coming of our Lord.

By War &
By God
Interview with Kent Williamson
There have been a lot of
fi lms made about the Vietnam
War. Most of them
highlight what the war did to
the men who served during that
time. Many of the veterans who
came home from Vietnam, and
come home from any war really,
walked away not only impacted
physically, but mentally and
emotionally as well. Kent Williamson,
director of the new fi lm
“By War & By God,” takes a different
look at the current state
of some of the veterans from
the Vietnam War; a look that
shows that time and God have
the power to heal the wounds of
a group of veterans and some of
the Vietnamese people.
So tell us about yourself
My name is Kent Williamson and
I am a fi lmmaker based-out of
Charlottesville, Virginia. I am the
founder of Paladin Pictures, Inc.
a fi lm and video production company
known for the fi lms Rebellion
of Thought, Stained Glass
Rainbows, When Love Walks In,
as well as the one you’re interested
in, By War & By God. Oh,
and I am the husband of one
wife and the father of six kids.
I did my undergrad at Moody
Bible Institute in Chicago, studied
fi lm at Columbia College in
Hollywood, and received my
Masters in screenwriting from
Regent University, but that was
2-3 decades ago.
What is the synopsis of your new
film “By War & By God”?
By War and by God is a powerful
fi lm about a group of Vietnam
vets who all survived the hell of
war and today return to Vietnam
to love care, and minister to the
people of that beautiful land.

How does war shape a man?
The Vietnam confl ict was long
ago, but its impact lives on
and the battles continue in the
hearts and minds of the U.S.
soldiers who were there. In the
jungle heat, the sweat, and the
blood they became men. But
today, over 40 years later, Vietnam
is the land where these
men become heroes. By War &
By God tells the traumatic, yet
redeeming story of a small group
of soldiers whose lives were
forever shaped by the war, but
whose faith has led them back to
Vietnam to love, serve, and care
for the people of that beautiful
land. Through fi rst-person interviews,
archival war footage, and
present-day on-location fi lming,
the stories of these amazing
“Vets with a Mission” will be a
testimony of the good that can
come from a handful of lives that
are touched By War & By God.
Do you have a connection to
the Vietnam War?
I have an interesting connection
to the Vietnam war. My wife’s
uncle, Lieutenant Floyd Olsen,
was a helicopter pilot who was
shot down in April 1968. He was
MIA for 10 years before he was
listed as KIA by the US Army.
His love for Christ was evident
during his time in Vietnam and
a missionary friend of his spent
years looking for him both during
and after the war. In the mid 90s,
that missionary built a medical
clinic in the village of Hong Ha
where Floyd was shot down.
Part of that story is told in By
War & By God.
What is the message that you
are trying to convey to your
audience?
I hope that the audience will take
away a couple of things from
watching By War & By God. First,
is that God can take horrifi c situations
and make beautiful things
come out of them. Next, I would
hope that the audience would
realize that God is capable of
using anyone, even themselves,
to do great work. And lastly, I
really, really hope that a young
veteran of one of our more
recent wars will see this fi lm
and realize that God could use
them to do similar work in Iraq
or Afghanistan or another region
where one of the recent confl icts
has occurred.
What is the meaning of the
title “By War & By God”?
I chose the title By War & By
God for this fi lm because as I
was interviewing these veterans,
and as we were editing the project,
I realized that war and God
were the two greatest influencers
in these men’s lives. When
you look at these man, you realize
that they have been shaped
both by war and by God.
The Vietnam War left our veterans
scarred in many ways;
has this ministry helped the
veterans heal at all from the
toll of the war?
The organization that is featured
in the fi lm is called Vets With A
Mission. This group has been
taking Vietnam veterans back
to Vietnam since 1989. Their
ministry is one of reconciliation.
And what they found is that as
these vet’s go back there is a tremendous
amount of healing that
occurs. There is reconciliation
between these men and the land
and people of Vietnam as they
realize that the war really is over.
There is reconciliation which
occurs in their souls as they put
this huge part of their past behind
them. And there is reconciliation
that occurs between themselves
and God in the process.
Since 1989, Vets with the Mission
has directly served over 100,000
patients through the medical
work that they do in Vietnam.
They’ve also built 40 medical
clinics which serves countless
more. They funded many life
altering procedures including 70
heart operations and over 120
eye surgeries. And lastly, since
1989 over 1300 American veterans
have returned to Vietnam
and contributed to this legacy of
reconciliation.
Do you intend for this film to
encourage other Vietnam vets
on their own personal road of
recovery?
It’s my hope that this fi lm will definitely
encourage other Vietnam
vets in their own personal road
to recovery. Each Vietnam veteran
has a very personal experience
that includes a variety of
traumatic events in their lives.
Most all of them lost friends in
the war. Most all of them saw
horrifi c things that only war can
bring about. And then on top of
that, many of them returned to an
America that was not real grateful
for their service to their country.
I think that other Vietnam
veterans will be encouraged by
the work that these men in the
fi lm are doing back in Vietnam.
And I hope that it will inspire
them to get involved in their own
ways.
What other ministries are you
involved in?
Several of the fi lms I’ve produced
have a ministry aspect
to them. For example, Stained

Glass Rainbows is a fi lm that
deals with the mess found where
homosexuality and Christianity
collide. As you know, that mess
is tearing denominations apart,
tearing churches apart, and tearing
families apart. I refer to that
mess as a roaring bonfi re within
church culture. And what I’ve
done in Stained Glass Rainbows
is to go all the way around the
bonfi re speaking with people on
all different sides; I then weave
their voices into a powerful story
that explores these issues. I’ve
also created a study guide for
that fi lm that helps churches in
small groups deal with this unbelievably
important issue. Is it the
role of the church to just go along
with what the broader culture is
doing in regards to this issue? I
don’t think so, but at the same
time extreme love needs to be
exemplifi ed, shown, and displayed
as we hold up scripture.
Another fi lm of mine is called
Rebellion of Thought: Postmodernism,
the Church, and the
Struggle for Authentic Faith. It
is a fi lm that helps people get a
better understanding of this postmodern
culture that surrounds
the church and it challenges
people to live a very authentic
faith within our society.
I’m also involved in a couple of
other ministries. I serve on the
board of an organization called
Transformation Counseling that
helps bring wise counsel and services
to people that desperately
need it. Also, I’m the founder of
the Community Films Foundation,
which is an organization
that helps mission groups, like
Vets with the Mission, tell their
stories through fi lm.
How can someone view “By
War & By God”?
If anyone wants to see the
fi lm By War & By God, they
can purchase the pre-release
DVD/Blu-ray combo pack at
ByWarAndByGod.com. In the
very near future, we will begin
submitting the fi lm to festivals
around the country and secure
further distribution. And as soon
as we have dates, the website
will announce the release on
streaming, etc.
Thank you so much for your
time! Any final words?
Thank you very much for your
interest in my fi lm.
Brandon Knight is a young gun,
a martial artist, and a freelance
writer. He resides in northwest
Indiana and recently began seminary
through Moody Theological
Seminary. Brandon has a passion
for preaching the Gospel
and seeing it transform lives. He
loves Jesus, comic books, and
the Chicago Cubs.