DAY FOUR

12 DAY CHALLENGE

Today's Tip of Faith: Living in the Faith Is Key

TODAY'S CHALLENGE:

Scripture Inspiration:

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith." - Romans 1:17(KJV)

Reflection:

To live in the faith and to die to sin (Acts 2:209-838-3213 is huge. It means we live an entirely different life from what we knew as normal day to day practices or habits which we've learned through our upbringing and surroundings. Living in faith automatically changes our lifestyle; from how we dress, speak, treat people, pursue life goals, participate in our community, and more. When we live in the faith of Jesus Christ and die to sin daily, we don't need to, nor should we, hide it from others in our lives, such as  family, friends, peers, or coworkers. We must live without shame, sharing our testimonies, giving God all the glory, and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.....of which we are saved by grace through FAITH in Him.

This brings GOD GREAT GLORY.

And so, Paul reminds us in the above scripture that THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.

✔Today's Action Step:

EXAMINE YOURSELF: Carefully examine the way you live today. Do your life's actions express the glory of God and your genuine faith in Him?

Rate your faith habits on a scale of 0 to 10. Think of how you move within the church community, how you move at your job, how do you treat others you don't know, how do you move with your family members, and so on. Reflect on these things in your journal. The rating  is not unchanging. Our ratings will always get better over time as we grow in faith! So, with that said, after you rate yourself, write about where you believe you need to improve. And, don't forget to:

Write out your decisions, thoughts, feelings or struggles for the day in your Journal.

DAY FIVE

12 DAY CHALLENGE

Today's Tip of Faith: Intentionally Grow

TODAY'S CHALLENGE:

Scripture Inspiration:

"For we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7-9 (KJV)

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."

Matthew 7:7-8

Reflection:

Have you ever thought about how amazing the mind and body is? God gave us an ability to perform activities without a thought or even a care. For example, in breathing, we exhale and inhale all day long and hardly ever think about it. We also blink thousands of times a day, without any real effort. These activities are critical to our life and wellness, yet we hardly think at all about any of them. But, is this how faith works? Yes and no. You see, while faith doesn't just automatically run on autopilot, with little-to-no thought from you, unshakeable faith can almost act like it's on autopilot. For example, when you meet someone who has never heard the gospel of Jesus, it takes time for their faith to build through deeper understanding after a seed of hope was planted by the person who shared the gospel of truth with them. On the other hand, when you meet someone who has been a follower of Christ for many years, you might notice they operate in a way that displays their autopilot type of faith. For these people, there is even another level of bold faith that is often reached through scenarios that heighten their need to utilize the power of God that they know has been given to them, through faith, yet in all certainty. What's interesting though, is that most people in society, whether they are saved or unsaved, automatically begin to tap into the internal faith in God when faced with life-or-death situations. With that said, faith does require your awareness of what it is you are trusting in, after hoping and then knowing the power source behind the fulfillment of such faith , but when you reach a point of faith like a child does in their parents, you begin to operate in a way that displays an autopilot type of faith.

"He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  - Matthew 18:2-3

What  does Matthew 18:2-3 mean?

First, it's important to know that this is Jesus speaking here and he is responding to the disciples who asked him a question that came from their own disputes about who among them was the greatest. They wanted to know who would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and Jesus begins telling them that they need to "turn" to become like children or they would not even enter the kingdom of heaven. 

In other words, entrance into heaven's kingdom cannot be gained by defeating all opponents or demonstrating personal accomplishment. Those who would enter must make themselves humble by recognizing that, like little children, they are powerless over the circumstances of their own lives. They are completely dependent on God to provide for them what they need and to protect them from harm. Only with that kind of honest humility and dependence on God can anyone come into His kingdom. 

Jesus is not pointing to children as the ideal of maturity. He is not suggesting that they are sinless or innocent or noble, necessarily, only that they are without hope of providing for themselves and making themselves great. They understand that they are dependent. The disciples had not yet reached that level of humility in relationship to faith in Christ and their total dependence on Him to work through them to accomplish what was needed.

So, with that said, you might now be able to see that Jesus was referring to the need for us to have 'Child-like Faith', yet not ignorant faith either.

“And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.”

- Isaiah 33:6 kjv 

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.

- James 1:5 kjv

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The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

- Proverbs 1:7 kjv

Today's Action Step:

SET AN INTENTION or TWO and consider the kind of faith you have been displaying. Journal this.

Think about where you want to accomplish today with your added faith in God?

In your Journal, write down some positive things you would like to have happen as you continue to walk, intentionally, in faith. Then pray over everything you wrote down and ask God for those things that are within His will, while believing (with TRUST and FAITH in God) that you those things are already yours.

Also, write down the answer to your intentions for walking with God in faith. What was the reason for the decisions, thoughts, feelings, and actions you took today? Write this down in your Journal as well.

DAY SIX

12 DAY CHALLENGE

Today's Tip of Faith: Embracing Evergreen Faith

TODAY'S CHALLENGE:

Scripture Inspiration:

"Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised." Hebrews 11:1-11

Reflection:

There will be a time when you feel fully ready to embrace your faith in Jesus. You may already feel you are there but growing in faith is a life journey and it won't happen in just a few days. The people who came before us: Abraham, Moses, Paul, Peter, Sara (to name a few), all died in the faith. They lived in a continual evergreen journey of trust and growth in the Lord.

✔Today's Action Step:

Pray for the courage to embrace evergreen faith. This life's mission will have many ups and downs, some seasons will be filled with blessings, while other seasons are filled with persecutions, but when we continue to have faith in God and his son, Jesus Christ, it acts as a shield against the enemy.

Proverbs 3:5-6, says:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

In your Journal, write down one of your big goals and then break it down into smaller goals. Then pray and ask God to help you to focus on the ultimate goal in your journey, by taking it day by day and one step at a time while trusting that God will lead the way.

Today you will write down an example or two of how you moved in faith today, as well as how you might be able to do move in greater faith tomorrow.

DAY SEVEN

12 DAY CHALLENGE

Today's Tip of Faith:

Trusting that it is OK to take a break at times, knowing that God is not going to judge you for it.

TODAY'S CHALLENGE:

We've covered some great topics for growing in the Faith over the past 6 days, so we will be taking a break  on this 7th Day of the Faith Challenge to rest while TRUSTING that God is proud of us. What great work you've accomplished so far!

“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”

 - Genesis 2:2 kjv

We hope you enjoy this off day and that you remain faith-inspired! We will continue our remaining challenge days focusing on Faith in Action - Salvation, Mission, & Ministry Work!

If you have a testimony to share, click the blue link below and share it with us. We would honored to hear from you!

DAY EIGHT

12 DAY CHALLENGE

Today's Tip of Faith: Faith in God's Plan of Salvation

Scripture Inspiration:

"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed HOPE and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

- Titus 2:11-14

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.  And when when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house."  - ACTS 16:31-34 kjv

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

- John 3:5 KJV

Again Jesus answered and said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."

 - John 6:4 KJV

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

- John 14:6 KJV

Reflection:

At the start of this challenge, we encouraged you to take the first step of placing your faith in the all-knowing God for his great plan for your life. We also encouraged you to have faith in fully trusting God in his perfect will. Today, we encourage you to now put your faith & trust into action.

We are all called to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and to receive the promised gift of eternal salvation upon becoming a saved child of GOd. This action is necessary and commanded to each and every one of us, in order to fulfill God's plan of Salvation, through his Son Jesus Christ.

✔Today's Action Step:

BE BAPTIZED & SEEK ETERNAL SALVATION: speak to the pastor of the church to learn about salvation through Jesus Christ and set up a date to get baptized in Jesus' name. These are necessary steps to take in order to receive the promised gift of eternal salvation. This is the first step of action that matters above all else, including this Faith challenge. So, take it seriously, be prayerful, and be excited!

If you have already received God's promise of eternal security, then today's action step is all about you helping someone else to receive the same message that led you to receive your free gift of eternal salvation.

In today's journal entry, confidently write your thoughts and action plans to take steps towards salvation. Be sure to bookmark this part of your journal as this is most important for your life!

If you have already received the gift of eternal salvation, write down your thoughts and action plans towards helping someone else to take those same steps, and write down some of your emotions in regards to being saved through Jesus Christ.