Perhaps these questions have been popping into your head lately: “If You are a Christian, why are you sick? If your heavenly Father is so wonderful, why do you have so many problems? Doesn’t your God help you, His child?”

And if you have been tempted to ask, “God, I am Your child. Why is this happening to me?” know that Jesus knows exactly how you feel because 2,000 years ago, the devil played the same trick on Him — “If you are the Son of God…” (Matthew 4:3) You see, the devil’s intention was to make Jesus doubt His Sonship, and the devil wants to do the same thing to you today.

He wants to destroy the Spirit of sonship in you and in the body of believers. He knows that once you really believe that you are a son of God, something happens — you begin to live life as “an heir of God through Christ”.

As a son and an heir of God, you inherit all the blessings of God which Jesus died to give you, including salvation, healing, prosperity, wholeness, favor, intimacy with God and answered prayers. And Jesus rose from the dead to make sure that what He died to give you, you get. He is alive today to enforce this rich, blood-bought inheritance in your life!

My friend, you are an heir of God through Christ. This means that you are joint heirs with Jesus. (Romans 8:17) So His inheritance is your inheritance too! Beloved, enjoy every bit of your inheritance in Christ, not because you deserve it, but because it was paid for by Jesus’ blood!

Galatians 4:6–7 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
- Extraction from Joseph Prince's Daily Devotionals-

“God is good” seems like a phrase said by many Christian when they were asked about their spiritual journeys. This made me wonder whether I’m lacking in faith or they are practically very mature Christians. Doubt easily visits especially when it feels like God isn’t answering my prayers; I’m not sure if God has my best interest.

Eve was doubtful when the serpent spoke to her in the Garden of Eden. The serpent successfully planted doubt in Eve’s mind when he said, “God knows that in the day you eat of the fruit, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God… (Genesis 3:5). The serpent convinced Eve that God is keeping ‘the good things” away from her when the truth is God has given Adam and Eve dominion over the world (Genesis 1:28).

Is God not answering your prayers? Are you tempted to doubt? Please do not be fooled, your circumstance is not the indicator of God’s ignorance over you nor it could be used to measure His goodness and love for you. He has shown it all through the Cross; by giving His only Son Jesus to die on the Cross in exchange for you to be able to live this life free from the slavery of the Satan and to have dominion over your life through His strength, mercy and grace.

So when you tempted to doubt, maybe it is just the right time to say and proclaim that Yes, God is good – all the time.

Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

- Irene Soon

Say your prayer, O heart of mine, Your God can do much more than you can ask. Launch out and draw your strength from His love-filled store. Trust Him with everything; begin today and find the joy that comes when Jesus has His way in your life.

We must keep on praying and waiting upon the Lord, until the sound of a mighty rain is heard. There is no reason why we should not ask for large things; and without doubt we shall get large things if we ask in faith, and have the courage to wait with patient perseverance upon Him, meantime doing those things which lie within our power to do.

We cannot create the wind or set it in motion, but we can set our sails to catch it when it comes; we cannot make the electricity, but we can stretch the wire along upon which it is to run and do its work; we cannot, in a word, control the Spirit, but we can so place ourselves before the Lord, and so do the things He has asked us do, that we will come under the influence and power of His mighty power. Cannot the same wonders be done now as of old? Where is the God of Elijah? He is waiting for Elijah to call on Him…”

James 5:17
Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

- Anonymous

Daniel 10:12-13
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days…

We have wonderful teaching here on prayer, and we are shown the direct hindrance from Satan.

Daniel had fasted and prayed twenty-one days, and had a very hard time in prayer. As far as we read the narrative, it was not because Daniel was not a good man, nor because his prayer was not right; but it was because of a special attack of Satan.

The Lord started a messenger to tell Daniel that his prayer was answered the moment Daniel began to pray; but an evil angel met the good angel and wrestled with him, hindering him. There was a conflict in the heavens; and Daniel seemed to go through an agony on earth the same as that which was going on in the heavens.

“We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers… against wicked spirits in high places” (Eph. 6:12).

Satan delayed the answer three full weeks. Daniel nearly succumbed, and Satan would have been glad to kill him; but God will not suffer anything to come above that we “are able to bear.”

Many a Christian’s prayer is hindered by Satan; but you need not fear when your prayers and faith pile up; for after a while they will be like a flood, and will not only sweep the answer through, but will also bring some new accompanying blessing.

- Author unknown

In the olden days, builders used to build their houses and buildings based on a cornerstone. The cornerstone had to have straight edges, be of quality material and have great strength. If a cornerstone was crooked, the entire building would be lopsided. If it was of little strength, the weight of the additional blocks would cause it to crumble. The stone had to be perfectly laid because all other stones were to be set in reference to the cornerstone. Using this method, builders were able to make magnificent castles, bridges, statues, some which still stand today.

Just like these buildings, to build a strong, magnificent "house" of our lives, we need to be built on a cornerstone. Oftentimes, if we build our lives around "cornerstones" of money, friends, family, pleasure and so on, our "house" may crumble with time or our "cornerstones" may not be able to bear the weight!

The Bible calls Jesus the chief cornerstone. When we build our lives on Him, we can be assured that He will never fail or crumble. He provides the strength we need to build upon Him. As we build, we can be certain we are building our lives exactly in alignment with who God has created us to be! And we can be sure our "house" will last into eternity!

1 Peter 2:6 
See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.

-Jo Voon-

A 'word' from God can bring you the solution you need. God created the world with a word, so imagine what a word from Him could do for your situation. The Bible says, 'Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left."' 

Notice the words, 'Your ears shall hear a word.' But if your spiritual ears are not open, trained and attuned to God, you won't hear what He is saying to you. Furthermore, if you filter what He's saying to you through human intellect in order to harmonise it with your own opinions, you will get nowhere. God gives a 'word' to those who have an open ear-and heart.

When you pray, what are you looking for? A spiritual high, or a time of intimacy with the Lord in which He speaks and you listen? When you read your Bible are you seeking confirmation of your own thoughts, or are you seeking God's will? Imagine what one of God's ideas could do for your life! '...the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.' (Daniel 11:32 NKJV).

If you dream of doing great things in life, get to know God. He will reveal Himself to you through His Word. You'll hear a lot of different ideas each day; some will benefit you, others won't. But when you get a 'word' from God it's like a seed; it has the potential to produce a tree; or better yet, a whole orchard of fruit.

Daniel 11:32 (NKJV)
Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

- Bob Gass (Word for Today)

A fellow pilot friend remembered his early training days where the changing altitudes and movements of the plane often caused him to feel motion sickness. To stop the cycle, he listened to the instructor’s advice to always fix his gaze on the horizon’s line. He slowly mastered the ability and regained his balance as he fixed his gaze on the horizon line which is always constant.

This practice is applicable in our daily Christian life. As trials are able to bring us through a roller coaster ride of wavering thoughts, emotions and series of events due to our own responses and actions, we too could fix our gaze on something that is constant; God is always constant and He is an expert in weaving series of events for his Glory and for our own good (Romans 8:28).

Fix your gaze and focus to the constant One; Jesus who is the Rock of all ages. If we build our lives on Him, we will not have to fear the trials of life.  He will enable you to have full assurance of victory for all trials despite the ever changing ‘altitudes and movements’ around us. How can you fix your focus on Jesus? Establish yourself in His Words, build a prayer life and make yourself accountable to a friend who is mature in their faith.

Psalm 94:22
But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.

- John W.

I was really touched and inspired by the faith of Nik Wallenda, a High Wire devout Christian Artist, the first person that succesfully completed an historic perfomance of 1500 feet  ( 460 m ) High Tightrope Walk across Grand Canyon without using a Safety Net. He covered a distance of approximately 1400 feet (430 m ) in just 22 minutes 54 seconds, using 2 inch thick ( 5.1 cm ) wire, and carrying a 30 foot long balancing pole weighing 43 pounds ( 20 Kgs. ).

This inspired man of faith  holds numberous Guiness World Records and I am not surprised to see his success, as he walks with the Lord by trusting Him fully. Before  he started his mission, he asked Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church to pray over him and his family.  And while he was crossing the " Grand Canyon ",  there was a strong wind, but he was steady and had no fear and he could manage to balance himself as he kept on thanking, praising and praying to Jesus. What a Great Saviour !

The Bible tells us that when the disciples of Jesus saw Him walking  on the sea, Peter asked the Lord to command him to come to Him on the water and as Jesus did, Peter started to walk on the water toward Him, but  when the wind came, he was afraid and began to sink.  After saving him, Jesus said, " O you of little faith, why did you doubt ? (Matthew 14 : 26 - 31  NKJV ).

When the wind came, Peter failed as he lost his focus to Jesus due to fear and doubt ( James 1 : 6 - 8 ), but for Nik, he succeeded in his mission as he fixed his eyes on Jesus and had no fear or doubt. Let's learn from this example and rid our fear and doubt. Our big God is able to help us achieve big things in life ......For all things are possible to him who believes ( Mark 9 : 23 ).

Hebrew 12 : 2A (NIV)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...

- FY -

There was a time in israel's history where the Israelites were oppressed by their enemies. Their crops and livelihood were attacked and They were driven into hiding. 

It was during this time that God called a plain young man named Gideon who was hiding from the enemy, saying, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior. In return, Gideon replied, "but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us?" Gideon went on to say "but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family!"

Like Gideon, there are times in our life where we may feel overrun by doubt and fear. We may ask god, Where are your promises? Or we may say, I'm just not good enough!

Often, the areas of our biggest fears and weaknesses are the areas God has created to be our strengths. Its the areas the devil tries to steal, kill and destroy. But it's in the midst of our very fear and weakness that God calls us out. God calls us by who He has created us to be! He calls us Mighty Warriors! 

Gideon went on to defeat to his enemies that once struck fear in the hearts of his people. No more were they oppressed or fearful. As God empowered Gideon, we too are empowered as we realise  who God has called and created us to be! In turn, we are able to set others free!

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 NIV
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” .. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

-Jo Voon-

Sometimes when we have a problem we do what Mary and Martha did with their deceased brother Lazarus. We bury it and roll a stone in front of it. Then Jesus comes along and tells us to roll the stone away so He can deal with it and make us whole again. 

It takes honesty, humility and courage to roll away the stone on a stubborn or shaming issue. You will never become healthy and whole until you are willing to do that. Can you imagine the state Lazarus was in after four days in the grave? Martha said, 'He stinketh' Yet Jesus said, '...If you believe you will see the glory of God' (John 11:40). 

The great thing about this story is that no matter how far gone your situation may be or how unpleasant it is, Jesus can turn it around for you. But you must be willing to roll the stone away and allow Him to work. People may give up on you but Jesus won't. Have you ever changed a baby's nappy? If anything else smelled that bad you would throw it in the trash, right? But not your child; you love them and you know that with a little help they are capable of outgrowing it and becoming something good. 

Like Mary and Martha, you may think it's too late for a miracle, but it's not. Your finances may stink, your relationship may stink, your prospects for the future may stink, but if you will believe you will 'see the glory of God.'

John 11:39 KJV
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?

- Bob Gass (Word for today)