But the flipside of that phrase,  “Don’t just DO something, SIT there”  can be just as powerful, and maybe even more effective in certain circumstances.

Scripture teaches the value of both:

1.  There are warnings in scripture against laziness:  

• Prov 6:10-11 A little sleep , a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest —and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. 
• Prov 20:4 A sluggard does not plow in season; so at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.

2.  The are also warnings about wearing yourself out to get ahead in life:  

• Ps 127:2 In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat — for he grants sleep to those he loves.
• Prov 23:4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint.

So rather than finding value in how busy we are, our worth should come through a balanced work ethic which includes times of rest.  We must also acknowledge that both are valued by God as part of His design for our lives.

The post Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There! appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

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Being prepared to verbally share with others about what God has done for you in your life doesn’t have to take a lot of time, or effort. Simply take a few minutes and write a 2 to 3 sentence description of a time when the Lord:

1. Saved you:  Describe how and when you came to know the Lord.  Include a specific difference He has made in your life or what having a relationship with Jesus means to you.

2. Healed you:  Describe how the Lord healed you and why you believe in His healing power.

3. Met a need for you:  Describe a time when you were needing a miracle in your finances for example, and how that supply came about.

Now all you have to do is memorize your story, remain aware of those you come in contact with who may have a similar need, and you will be prepared to bring hope and encouragement to people God has placed in your life.

Helpful hints:

• Pray for opportunities to share what God has done for you.
• Remain alert throughout your day to the needs of those around you.
• Focus on the positive side of your story – do not dwell on the negative aspects.
• Make sure that you keep Jesus as the central focus.
• If they ask you questions and you don’t have the answer, be honest.
• Don’t be pushy or arrogant.  Remain humble and sensitive to their receptivity.
• Respect their time, especially if you’re at work.
• If possible, be sure to follow up on how they are doing.

In all of this remain dependent on the Holy Spirit to lead you.  And remember, this is His work you are participating in.  Leave the results in His hands as you continue to pray and look for additional opportunities.

The post Being Prepared to Witness Doesn’t Take A Lot of Time appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

Have you ever felt like a total failure when witnessing because you were not able to get someone to pray the sinner’s prayer? To relieve any feelings of the “pressure to perform” which can lead to guilt, it’s helpful to first of all know your purpose for witnessing.

While leading people to Jesus is a crucial desire in witnessing, that should not be our only purpose.  Many times the Lord brings us across someone’s path for other purposes as well.  This may include

• Expressing His love for them
• Bringing them to a place of spiritual readiness to receive Him, or
• Deepening their understanding of spiritual matters.

And what if the person is already a Christian?  If our only goal is to have someone “pray the prayer” we may miss the opportunity to share a truth that would help them grow in their walk with the Lord.

Speaking with them helps us to assess where they are in their journey (so that you know what to share with them). The chart below is a tool that can be used for this assessment.  It gives us a general perspective of the journey that all of us have taken, all the way from not being a Christian (beginning at -10 at the bottom of the chart) to becoming a disciple and discipling others (+10 at the top).

We are all on a journey:

This model provides us with a true measure of our effectiveness when sharing with someone about Christ. Understanding the process of moving someone further along in their journey with the Lord can remove any feeling of failure in witnessing.  It also gives you the assurance that you have made a difference in their lives through witnessing.

The post Have You Ever Felt Like a Failure at Witnessing? appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

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Do you ever go through times when you feel like you have lost your intimacy in prayer?  Or, that your prayers aren’t making it any higher than the ceiling?  You can take some comfort in knowing it’s not an uncommon feeling.

Instead of giving up, we have found great encouragement by reminding ourselves of the following 3 truths about God’s loving interest in our talking to Him about whatever difficulty we are facing at the time. 

Before we even begin to pray we assure ourselves from scripture that:  

1. God is looking

2. God is listening

3. God will answer  

As illustrated below, when the Psalmist felt his prayers were going unnoticed by God, he quickly reminded himself that the above three truths were part of the very nature of God.

Ps 10:1  says Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? However, it is then followed by Ps 10:17 saying, You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.

Ps 22:1-2 says My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the  words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent. However,  it is followed by Ps 22:24 saying, For he has not despised or disdained  the suffering of the afflicted one; he has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.

It is no coincidence that these 3 truths are woven into the rest of the book of Psalms.  In the first 40 Psalms alone there are continual, repeated examples which assure us God does take notice when we cry out to him in prayer.  In those times, he quickly and intentionally reminded himself that God looks for, hears, and answers those who seek Him in prayer.

During those times when you too feel like there’s a barrier between Heaven and Earth, encourage yourself by reading the following verses aloud and picture God doing exactly what the scripture promises.

1.  GOD LOOKS for those who will seek Him:

• The LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. (Ps 14:2)
• For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. (Ps 1:6)
• I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction  and knew the anguish of my soul. (Ps 31:7)
• The eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. (Ps 33:18)        
• The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous. (Ps 34:15)

2.  Not only are the eyes of God watching over you, but GOD HEARS every word you are speaking to Him:  

• In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.  (Ps 5:3)                     
• The LORD has heard my cry for mercy; the LORD accepts my prayer.  (Ps 6:9)
• He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.  (Ps 9:12b)
• In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple   he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ear. (Ps 18:6)
• The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry. The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. (Ps 34:15,17)
• I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. (Ps 40:1)

 3.  As He watches over you, and listens to your cry, His heart is moved and you can be assured that GOD WILL ANSWER you (whether or not your circumstances change immediately):  

• To the LORD I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. (Ps 3:4)
• Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Ps 9:10) 
• I call on you, O God, for you will answer me. (Ps 17:6)    
• O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength. How great is his joy in the victories you give! You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips. (Ps 21:1-2)
• O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.  (Ps 30:2)
• I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. (Ps 34:4-6)

Reading these verses aloud will increase your faith, deepen your intimacy with the Lord, and enrich your spirit.  You will also grow in your assurance that God is right there in the room with you and you have his undivided attention as your remind yourself that:

1. GOD IS LOOKING
2. GOD IS LISTENING
3. GOD IS ANSWERING

We have found that point number 3 is most likely the most difficult to deal with especially when we have a prayer that has gone seemingly unanswered for quite sometime.  If that’s the case you might find the following posts to be encouraging:

Designed for Answered Prayer

The Power of Prayer

Additional faith building truths to increase your intimacy with the Lord are presented in our book “Where Heaven Meets Earth”.

The post 3 Steps Toward Intimacy in Prayer appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

First of all, numerical growth was important enough to God to make note of it in scripture.  In just the first 9 chapters of the book of Acts, he repeatedly mentions the increasing number of people being added to the church:

•  About 3,000 were added to their number (2:41)
• The Lord added to their number daily (2:47)
• Many who heard the message believed and the number of men grew to about 5,000 (4:4)
• More and more men and women believed and were added to their number (5:14) 
• The number of disciples was increasing (6:1) 
• The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith, (6:7)  
• The church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria…grew in numbers (9:31)

Each one of these numbers represents a person that was in need of a Savior.  So God does care about the numbers?   Not for the sake of our reputation, but because of His love for each individual.  However, it’s also important to note that the increase in numbers was a direct result of the Spiritual condition of the church.  According to Acts 1:14, God’s plan was to empower His people so they would be equipped to reach the lost:

• They were filled with the Spirit:  Acts 2:4
• They were in unity and met together regularly: Acts 1:14, 2:44, 2:46
• They were empowered to do the miraculous: Acts 2:43
• They were filled with compassion and met the needs of others Acts 2:44-45
• They had an attitude of praise Acts 2:46
• As a result, people were saved, and the Lord added to their number daily: Acts 2:47

This same power and love of God is available to us today and we too must care about the numbers of people we come across everyday:  our family, our neighbors, our co-workers, and acquaintances.  We must care enough to pray for them and step out in faith to share the good news that Jesus came to do for them what He did for us.

(If you need specific ways on how to be a witness read our previous blog 4 Ways to Share Your Faith.)

KEY INSIGHT:  It was the Lord Himself that added to their number.  He alone is the one who saves.  We are not called to save people, we are called to be His witnesses and make disciples of those who choose to follow.  This will be discussed more in depth in our next blog concerning the false pressure that is often placed on the church to ‘get people saved’. 

The post Does God Really Care About Numbers? appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

You were designed for answered prayer.  Answered prayer begins in the place where God first moves upon our heart with the revelation of His will

Romans 8:26-27 puts it this way. ‘The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.’

From the above scripture we learn two important truths concerning prayer:

a. We do not know (in the natural) what we ought to pray for.
b. We must allow the Holy Spirit to teach us.

When we do not receive an immediate answer to prayer we must begin by acknowledging that it is never because of a shortcoming on God’s part.  There may be a reason for the delay, or there may be a work that God is wanting to do in our hearts.  But do not think that you or your prayers have to be perfect. The truth is that God is not looking for children who never make a mistake. On the contrary, He is looking for children who are eager to learn and have a longing to please Him. When we error, He lovingly corrects us and leads us into the place of meeting with Him so He can teach us His ways.

In the place of intimacy with God, He imparts understanding and grace to follow the leading of His Spirit, both in our prayer time, as well as in our lives.  It is in the meeting place with Him that hindrances to answered prayer are removed as we remain open to the leading of His Spirit in the following ways:

1. Anticipate that the Holy Spirit will make known to you the will of God.

1 John 5:13-15 ‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask- we know that we have what we asked of him.’
(See also John 16:13, Matt 6:33 and John 6:38-39)

The focus of our prayers should be our Father’s Kingdom. It is the very essence of why we should long to meet with Him.  Whether we believe that we already know the will of God, or we are seeking Him for His will, we must remember that prayer is not our attempt to convince God to do something. On the contrary, included in the purpose of prayer is the aligning of ourselves with His will.

Leonard Ravenhill said,
“Prayer is not an argument with God to persuade
Him to move things our way,
but an exercise by which we are enabled
by the Holy Spirit to move ourselves His way.”

2. Believe that the Holy Spirit will help you to pray in faith.

Matt 21:22 ‘If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.’ (see also Heb 12:2 and Matt 13:58)

Faith is not something you work up to. Faith is something you receive as His Word is made alive in you (Romans 10:17). For this reason it is best to read the Word of God before you even begin to pray. In fact, your entire prayer time should be infused with scriptures which God has made alive to you at some point in your life.
Meditate on any Word that stands out to you and allow His Holy Spirit to pray His word through you in faith. Reword it to fit your situation and it will cause you to pray in faith, as well as to continue in prayer until you have reassurance from the Holy Spirit that He is moving on the prayer need.

3. Trust that the Holy Spirit will give you the grace to be persistent.

Luke 11:8 ‘I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.’

Persistence is not a tool for convincing God to do something. Instead, it is part of the process God uses to mature us and prepare us for the answer.

George Mueller said,
“It is not enough to begin to pray, or to pray aright,
nor is it enough to continue for a time to pray,
but we must patiently, believingly, continue in
prayer until we receive an answer.”

Never give up, God’s timing is perfect, not only for your situation but also for your heart.

4. Entrust that the Holy Spirit will give you grace (enabling power) to listen and obey what He says.

1 John 3:21-23 ‘Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.’ (See also Zech 7:13, Jeremiah 15:1 and Proverbs 28:9)

We can’t expect to pray and receive answers if we are not willing to live in obedience to Him. Living in rebellion discredits God and His provision. Living in obedience honors Him and what He does for us.

5. Seek guidance from the Holy Spirit to pray in Jesus’ Name. (His Name stands for His authority, power, character, attributes, and renown; and we have been given His Name.)

John 14: 12-14 ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, “he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”’  See also 16:26-28)

Praying in Jesus’ Name means that after meeting with Him, we are changed more into His likeness, and we are enabled to go out into our world as His representatives to impact our world in the same manner Jesus would impact it if His feet were standing on the earth in the midst of your circumstances.

For now, focus on the truth that He wants to meet with you. And while meeting with you He will graciously reveal anything that could hinder your prayers—prayers that have been ordained by God to impact your world.

6. Be open to the Holy Spirit showing you hindrances in your heart. (Jeremiah 17:9-10, Ps 139:23)

Remember, God accepts you in the place where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you there. He does not reveal hindrances in your heart to condemn you. Quite the opposite is true. He reveals what is in your heart to make you more like Him in prayer.

Ps 24:3-4 ‘Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.’

Ps 66:17-20 ‘If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.  (I John 1:6-9, 2 Tim 2:22)

James 5:16 ‘Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.’

Do not let the previous list overwhelm you as though you have to examine each one every day to receive answers to prayer. Simply be aware of them and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal anything you need to make right with God. As we will see in future blogs, it is from this meeting place with God that power will flow through you to impact your world.

In our book, we cover 4 additional aspects of answered prayer.  For further study order your copy of “Where Heaven Meets Earth – Intimacy and Impact through Prayer”

Contact us about hosting a “Where Heaven Meets Earth” Prayer Conference.

The post Designed for Answered Prayer appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

5 Examples of Powerful Prayer

In our previous blog (Power of Prayer Part 2) we listed 5 examples from our book Where Heaven Meets Earth (Intimacy and Impact through Prayer) where a child of God exercised their privileged position as God’s representatives here on earth to release His will.  As we promised you in that blog, 5 additional examples are listed below to once again encourage you in exercising this great privilege and right given to each one of us.

1.  It was the will of God to fill the Disciples with the Holy Spirit, but it happened after prayer.

John 14:16 ‘And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor.’

 Matthew 3:11 ‘Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire.’

 Acts 1:4 ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised.’

  Acts 1:8 ‘And you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.’

 Acts 1:14 ‘They all joined together constantly in prayer.’

Acts 2:4 ‘All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.’ (Acts 2:32-33)

The disciples had a promise from Jesus, yet they still had to pray. We can’t afford to think that when God gives us a specific promise concerning our need, that we can simply wait on its fulfillment. Instead He wants us to experience the power of declaring His promise with the expectancy that it is going to happen as He says.

2.  It was the will of God to send His Spirit to the Gentiles, but it happened after prayer.

Acts 10:1a, 2b, 4b,9-10, 44 ‘At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius…; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly…The angel answered, ‘Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.‘ Peter went upon the roof to pray…he fell into a trance…While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message.’

Following the example of Jesus and the disciples, the early church continued to meet with God to seek His indwelling power. They knew by example that it was a relationship to be greatly desired.

3.  It is the will of God to perform miracles, save souls, and deliver, but it happened after prayer.

 Acts 2:42-47 ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together…the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.’

Acts 4:31 ‘After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.’

When we submit ourselves to God, and seek to glorify Him as our Father, He promises to do what we cannot do on our own – wonders and miraculous signs. It is not something we seek as a test for God to prove Himself, but to reveal His love and care for the people He created.

4.  It was the will of God to deliver Peter from prison, but it happened after prayer.

 Acts 12:5 – 7a ‘So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him…. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. Quick, get up‘ he said, and the chains fell off Peter’s wrists.’

We have heard the above story mentioned in messages with a focus on the ministry of the angels. But just as important as the fact that Angels released Peter, is the fact that our prayers dispatch Angels. We don’t command them, God does, but He does so in response to the prayers of His people.

5.  It was the will of God to deliver Paul, but it happened after prayer.

2 Cor 1:10-11 ‘He has delivered us from such a deadly peril and will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.’

Phil 1:19-20 ‘for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.’

If you missed out on Parts 1 or 2, click on the following links:

The Power of Prayer Part 1

The Power of Prayer Part 2

In our next blog we will discover the amazing truth that “You are Destined for Answered Prayer!”

The post The Power of Prayer (Part 3) appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

One of the best ways to share the love of God with someone in your daily routine is to find someone who has an obvious need and offer to pray for them.  Following are some helpful tips and wisdom for the expression of prayer evangelism when you are made aware of a need:

• Ask, “How can I pray with you?”
• Pray quietly in a manner so as not to draw attention to yourself.
• Remain sensitive as to whether or not you should touch them.
• Use common language, not words like, “thee or thou” or other unexplained phrases that someone outside of church may not understand. 
• If allowed, pray at that time.  If not, let them know you will pray at home and do not be offended if not allowed to pray.
• Your prayer does not have to be lengthy.

Consider developing a lifestyle of praying quietly in your area of influence as you go about your day.  And over the next few weeks, be intentional about looking for someone to pray for.  You will be amazed at the number of opportunities that will arise when you make yourself available to be used by God in this manner.

If you have ever prayed for someone in public, please share your story! 

The post Witnessing Through Prayer appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

When we face a trial in our life it’s crucial that we understand the following 6 keys to passing the test of faith.  Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. (John 16:33 NIV) ” That begs the question, “If He overcame, then why do we still have trouble?”

The truth is, we live in a fallen world that brings many difficulties our way. But the good news is, Jesus came to face every type of trial we will ever face.  He overcame each trial in order to teach us how we can now overcome the trials we face in our own lives.  And when our faith is tested, if we have embraced the learning process, we can pass each test of faith with flying colors.

Think of it this way:  A young child may have faith in a parent to solve all of their problems.  However, it is not wise for a parent to step into their child’s life and immediately solve every problem for them.  Instead, it is more beneficial for the child when the parent models what it takes to overcome, gives instructions concerning the process, and then lets the child apply the lessons that were taught to them.  This process reveals to the child whether or not they have truly learned what they need in order to grow into mature adults.

This truth was learned well by James and is the reason why he was able to say,”Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4).”  From this verse we  learn 6 things we can work on to grow in our ability to overcome the trials of life:

1.  Deliberately “count it” a joy

Not exactly something most people would want to hear when facing a trial that tests their faith.  Especially when we consider that this was written shortly after Stephen was martyred and Christians were being greatly persecuted.  Yet, it agrees with what Jesus said when he told us to “be of good cheer” in times of trouble.  Although it does not seem very realistic, that’s exactly the point.  The phrase “count it” means to “deem it so”.  It implies the necessity of making a deliberate effort.

The fact is, we are more likely to experience negative emotions in troubled times.  The Bible is full of stories where people struggled with their emotions during intense trials.  Jesus does not condemn us for our emotional pain, but is deeply touched by it (Heb 4:15). And that’s why both Jesus and James pointed out that we would have to make a deliberate effort to experience joy.  So where do we begin?  We begin by not thinking a trial is unusual when we’re living in a fallen world:

2.  Acknowledge that we do face trials – of many kinds

The word “face” means “to encounter what is all around us”.  We are living in a fallen world and we will have trouble which, according to scripture, can include general anguish, a tight spot, adversity, persecution, unjust hardships, wearisome labor, sorrow, emotional pain, depravity, burdens, and pressure.  In 2 Cor 11:23-12:10 the apostle Paul listed numerous trails he faced.  But then he goes on to say that these trials, while not caused by God, revealed his weaknesses, made Him rely on the grace of God, and perfected him.   So instead of bemoaning trials, James advises the following:

3. Focus on the end result of becoming more mature and complete, not lacking anything

In each trial, the true colors of our faith are tested.  In the same way that taking a test in school reveals what we  really do and do not know about a certain subject matter, the testing of our faith reveals where we are weak in our understanding of God’s ways.  When we admit that there may be something more  we need to know about God, we are then enabled to embrace a new lesson for living in victory.

We also come to understand more about the process of believing that God wants to impart to us everything we need to live as overcomers.  When we embrace this process we become more perfect and complete, with a greater ability to handle the troubles that surround us in this fallen world.  In this process, as we realize there is something we are lacking in our knowledge of Him, we must admit it, and allow it to motivate us to:

4.  Persevere to greater understanding

Acknowledging that our belief system about God is not where it should be is a good thing.  It should cause a tenacity within us to know Him in a deeper measure.  A measure that will increase our knowledge and faith in God so we can believe Him to help us in both our current and future tests of faith.  This measure of faith will come as we:    

5. Ask for wisdom

Wisdom can be defined as insight into the true nature of things. Used in this reference, wisdom becomes a key factor in helping us to accurately assess the trouble we are facing, including its source and its solution.  His wisdom will always be found in His written word.  It’s one of the reasons we should hide His word in our hearts.  But it may also come from a Christian counselor or friend who confirms His Word.  But it will most assuredly be given because He gives it freely.  As we then apply His wisdom we become capable of moving on to the next level of maturity.  Much the same way as we would promoted to the next level in school.

And that brings us to our last point.  Applying the above truths will be the “rudder of life” that keeps you moving in the right direction toward maturity in the faith, as you:

6.  Choose to Believe what He Says

James goes on to say in verses 6 and 7 that we must not doubt what Jesus has taught us, but press through the trial by applying the above truths.  If we doubt, we will be like a ship tossed back and forth by waves in a storm.  But the opposite is also true: someone who has taken training in how to sail a ship during a storm, knows how to press through to the other side.  And with each storm, they learn more about how to press through with confidence   They are not thrown back and forth while wondering what they should do.  

As we press through with His wisdom, we will come through whatever this fallen world throws our way, and will move straight toward our goal of a mature faith in Jesus.  We will continually move toward a deeper understanding that God’s ways have worked before and they will work again.  And when we come through on the other end, we will be more perfect and complete at maneuvering through the trials.

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The post 6 Keys to Passing the Test of Faith with Flying Colors appeared first on Twiford Ministries.

Jesus had many ways of intentionally expressing the love of His Father to people around Him. 

Below are 4 ways to share your faith so you can develop a lifestyle of witnessing.  In our conference we discuss a total of seven expressions, but for brevity in this blog we will limit it to 4.  As you read through them, remain open to incorporating each of these expressions into your life.

1. Prayer (praying for people with obvious needs) 
2. Conversation (bringing Jesus into a conversation or asking leading questions)
3.  Story (sharing a personal testimony/your story of salvation for instance)
4.  Compassion (finding a need and meeting it while expressing Christ’s love)

In our next few blogs we will examine each one of these in more detail and how they can be woven into your daily routine.  For now, please leave a reply answering the following question:

Which of the above avenues would you feel most comfortable using, or have used, as a tool for witnessing?  

Click here to obtain your copy of “Loving Your City”

Loving Your City Conference

The post 4 Ways to Share Your Faith appeared first on Twiford Ministries.