Touching Hearts Ministries

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see”. Hebrews 11:1. Faith is believing what God has said will happen. It is believing God’s Word without any shadow of doubt.

It is being assured of God’s Word; a total dependence on Him and willingness to do His will. God is committed to fulfilling His promise when we totally believe His Word. He is God and He will never fail or disappoint you; as He is not a man.

The English dictionary describes faith as complete trust and confidence, firm belief without logical proof.
“By faith, we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was not visible”- Hebrews 11:3.

“We live by faith and not be sight” –2 Corinthians 5:7. It is very important that you believe what the Word of God says about a situation and not what you are experiencing in the physical realm.

Faith is not relying on your feelings and it is not based on personal comfort. It is not a formula and you must not think that if God did something one way that is the way He will always do things. You should not try and help God by assuming the way He will do His work. Faith is not just a theory.

For example, if you are in need of money, you do not use someone else’s chequebook, forge the signature and then believe God that you will not be caught. That does not line up with the character of God.

DO NOT DOUBT

Faith is the opposite of doubt. You must not doubt or fear “because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does”.
James 1:6-8.

When you doubt, you are telling God that He is not able to meet you at your point of need. But when you have complete faith in Him, even faith as small a mustard seed, He will show Himself mighty in your life. Double-mindedness leaves its victims paralysed by doubt.

You must not rely on your own understanding but trust God without reservation. The Bible says, “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight” Proverbs 3:5-6.

This scripture tells us to trust God with all our heart, not with 99.9% of our heart. It has to be all or nothing! Once you trust God completely, He will carry out His own part of the deal.

He will never disappoint you, as He is “not a man, that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should change His mind” Numbers 23:19a.

Child of God, I encourage you to build up your faith as this honours God, in whatever you do. May the Lord bless you as you do so, in Jesus’ matchless name, Amen.

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

God is pleased when we walk by faith and nothing pleases Him more than that. As we can see in Genesis 22, Abraham wasted no time in following God’s instructions, when He told Him “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” Genesis 22:2

By faith, Abraham did just as God had commanded him. “Early the next morning, Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son, Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. He said to his servants, “stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you”. Genesis 22:3-5.

Abraham believed and then went to see; he did not wait to see before believing! This is God-kind of faith, which God honours at all times.
In Genesis 22:9-12, the Bible says,” When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged wood on it. He bound his son, Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. The he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called out to him from Heaven, “Abraham, Abraham”.

“Here I am” he replied. “Do not lay a hand on the boy”, he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son”.

God honoured Abraham’s faith and he learned a lesson we would do well to learn. Following God does not have to be complicated; neglecting to follow Him is what complicates life. God is pleased when we walk by faith and not be sight.

”Abraham looked up and there in a thicket, he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son” Genesis 22:13.

Abraham is the father of faith as “he reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death”. Hebrews 11:19. In the long distant race of faith, we must be prepared to submit to discipline that will correct us and instruct us in our spiritual growth.

Child of God, if you have complete faith in God, without doubting or wavering, He will always meet you at your point of need. He always honours His Word and it will not return back to Him void.

In conclusion, as you focus on Jesus, with faith, you will be able to accomplish many things, for His Glory. It is very important that God gets all the glory in everything that you do, with faith. May God grant you grace so that your faith can be built up and increase, on a daily basis. Amen

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

Integrity always takes root as a mental attitude that says “ nothing will move me from my faith. I am determined to stand firm. I am not worried if no one else stands with me. I have made up my mind and no amount of pressure will change my decision”. It is much better to maintain one’s integrity than to compromise and act against one’s faith.

Let us look at the temptation that faced some young exiles in the day of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He had ordered his chief court official “ to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- young men without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that, they were to enter the king’s service”. Daniel 1:3-5.

You can see that there was a lot of temptation for these young Israelites. They were promised that they would enter the king’s service if they obeyed and did all the king had instructed his chief court official. Among these Israelites were some from Judah: Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. (Daniel 1:6)

The Bible tells us: “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Now God had caused the official to show favour and sympathy to Daniel, but the official told Daniel “ I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you”. – Daniel 1:8-10.

Now, the food and drink offered by the king to these young exiles was not just any food or wine; this was “royal food” from the kitchens of the king. They were ordered to eat the same food the king ate and I believe it was tasty and posh food. Yet, it was contaminated food in the eyes of the young Jews, for the first portion of the food would have been offered to idols. Furthermore, ceremonially unclean animals were used, and therefore, the food was not suitable for the Jews to eat.

The pressure was there and Daniel and his friends were undoubtedly tempted to eat the food as the court official was hovering around. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine. He asked the guard to “please test your servants for ten days: give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see”
Daniel 1:11-13.

It is very important to take a stand and do the right thing in accordance with your faith. Daniel did just that; and “ at the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men, who ate the royal food”. – Daniel 1:15

Child of God, when you do the right thing and you do not compromise, God will always stand by you and prove your critics wrong. Wisdom comes privately from God, as a by-product of right decisions and godly reactions to situations around us.

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. God bless you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)

Whatever situation you find yourself, never bow down to the enemy. It is very dangerous to do that. Have faith in God and He will see you through, when you do what is right. Remain a person of integrity; some people may misunderstand you, but it does not matter.

The Bible tells us “But there are some Jews, whom you, (king Nebuchadnezzar) have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego- who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up” – Daniel 3:12. The king told the three Hebrew men that they would be thrown into the blazing furnace if they did not serve his gods. They refused to succumb to the demands of the king because they knew the God they were serving.

“Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king “ O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” – Daniel 3:16-18. These three men were great men of faith. They believed and trusted the Almighty God they served and they refused to compromise their God.

The Bible tells us that Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and his attitude towards them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up the three Hebrew men and throw them into the blazing furnace.

When you totally believe and trust in the Almighty God; and you do not compromise your faith, He will always show up. He showed up in the blazing furnace as the three men’s FOURTH MAN, Alleluia. They came out of the fire, smelling of roses and not smelling of smoke!

“Then Nebuchadnezzar said “ Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent His Angel and rescued His servants! They trusted in Him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God”. “ Daniel 3:28

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. What a testimony! Even the king, who was an idol worshipper, was amazed at the works of the Most High God. If you find yourself in the furnace of life, just trust in God as Daniel and the three men did; and He will not put you to shame. He will not let you burn in the furnace and promotion will be your portion in the end, in Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen

HOLD ON ! DO NOT COMPROMISE ! NEVER BOW DOWN TO THE ENEMY !

PRAYER OF SALVATION

If you have not already committed your life to Jesus and you would like to do so now, please pray this prayer:

“Lord Jesus, I am sorry for all the things I have done wrong. Thank you for dying for me on the cross, to set me free from my sins. I ask you to come into my life as my personal Lord and Saviour, and fill me with the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Congratulations, if you have prayed this prayer. Please look for a Bible-believing church, to fellowship with the brethren. Please do not hesitate to contact me, if I can be of any assistance to you. God bless you. Remain blessed and enjoy the presence of the Lord.

Ronke Immanuel

THM(UK)