While we, as Christians, understand that our works don’t have anything to do with our entry to heaven, we find out that our works have everything to do with our reward once we get there.
REWARDS
1 Corinthians 3:10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
The loss referred to here is the loss of reward. The “revealing by fire” reference I like to visualise as Jesus taking one glance at our works with His eyes of fire and Poof! – instantly everything burnable is reduced to ashes. Of course His foundation of salvation in our lives is fireproof so at the very minimum we are left with salvation only and no reward. This fire is not the fires of hell which is a separate issue not referred to in this passage. Also, note the degrees of perishable works and the degrees of imperishable works. This shows a variety of value in our works and a corresponding value of reward. Knowing this, the Christian must always be thinking “I must be producing gold, silver, precious stones otherwise I might as well just quit and go to heaven now.” That’s why Paul admonishes the believer to “take care” how he builds.
Revelation 22:12 Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.
1 Cor 3:8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labour.
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body (ie, while alive on this earth), according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
2 John 1:8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.
Note that if by our effort we can win a full reward then by less effort we can win a partial reward. And by carelessness we may lose the reward that we have worked for.
Rev 3:11 I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your crown.
Again, be diligent so that you won’t lose something of incredible value that Jesus will give you.
REWARDS ARE IMPLIED TO BE RESPONSIBILITY/POSITION
Matthew 25:14-30 For it (the kingdom of heaven) is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’ The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.’ “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.”
Matthew 5: 19Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus clearly told his followers the Kingdom of Heaven would be a place where individual saved believers would be rewarded according to their deeds. If you do a lot with what God has given you, you will get a greater reward in Heaven. If you squander what God has given you, don’t be surprised to find that your reward is much less. All Christians need to know this reality which is why the writer of Hebrews 6 refers to judgement and resurrection of the dead as two of the six foundational teachings. Eternal rewards begin with the saints ruling on earth with Jesus but that’s another subject (Rev 5:10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth. Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; … but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.)
Other scriptures imply degrees of joy, types of crown, and other unspecified rewards. My above notes are a simple introduction to this subject and there is much material available for further study.
Lynne’s message to Franklin Aglow (Pukekohe) 21 July 2016. It’s time for the body of Christ to rise up and be all we are called to be. Obedience positions us for power. The hour is late, the harvest is white, no more delays. There is a lost world waiting for you to obey the master’s voice to step out and bring them hope and life.
Message by Lynne at the morning service at Hope Centre, Tauranga, NZ 17th April 2016. God is calling us to be “believing believers”, knowing who we are in God and living our lives walking daily in Jesus’ steps with our gospel boots on.
This is a message Lynne gave at Pacific Pearls prophetic women’s conference, Hastings, NZ, Saturday 27th Feb 2016. She encouraged the women to rise up in their God given identity. Following her message she painted a picture of the Lion of Judah roaring “Revival” over New Zealand.
Esther 4:14 paraphrased Don’t think that you can remain silent at this time. You have received royalty, the kingdom of God, for such a time as this.
God is raising up an elite end-time army of warriors. They are prayer warriors, fearless, full of faith and power. They are called to live a life of risk with a fire burning within that cannot be put out. They have on the full armour of God.
Psalm 144:1 Blessed be God my rock who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle. I believe you and I have been handpicked to be on planet earth at this strategic time in history, to be in God’s army to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth and usher in the return of Jesus. But we have an enemy – one of his names is Satan. Other names are tempter, liar, deceiver, destroyer and my favourite is Beelzebub which means dung god. As a liar and a deceiver Satan will try everything he can to stop you from knowing your true identity.
The day you asked Jesus into your life as your Lord and Saviour you signed up for battle. How can we defeat the enemy? By totally surrendering to Jesus the commander in chief. When we know and love our God then we are secure in Him and are able to trust and surrender to Him. Also we defeat Satan by knowing our true identity in God. It’s not all about what I think or feel about myself it’s about what God says about me. It’s time to shake off intimidation and the lies of the enemy. The Bible says we have the mind of Christ and we are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
Evangelist Winkie Pratney once told a story about a pastor’s wife who was jogging one day when she saw a man dressed in white standing in a cornfield. The pastor’s wife had been going through a difficult trial, and when she saw this man, whom she recognized as Jesus, He said to her: “Don’t you know who I am? Don’t you know who you are? When you know this, it is not really as hard as you think.”
As a young single person I grew in my faith and became fearless after having been involved with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) for some time. I then went through a few years of sickness and other setbacks which affected my identity and confidence in God. One book which helped me during this time and highlighted the areas I needed to be healed in was “Powerful and Free” by Danny Silk. I made a list of events and circumstances whereby I had allowed myself to be shut down, and started praying through them. It’s time for all of us to come into that freedom that Jesus died for.
Many have had disappointments, heartaches, regrets, unfulfilled dreams…DON’T BE ROBBED! It’s time to rise up again and believe what God says about you!
You have all authority and the enemy is under your feet. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. Luke 10:19
Your calling is unique. Your gifts and personality are uniquely you. Because of who you are and what God has said about you, you are worldchangers. Even when one person is drawn to God through your life you have made the world a better place. YOU AND GOD ARE A MAJORITY! Don’t underestimate what God can do through you! When I am weak He is strong.
We are to be the kind of women that when our feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says: “Oh, no, she’s up!”
The Word clearly instructs us to put on the whole armour of God to be equipped for battle: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, our gospel boots, and prayer. I’ll just cover the shield of faith and the gospel boots today.
The shield of faith covers the length of our body and only protects us as we face the enemy. Heb 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith overcomes fear. 1 Jn 5:4 This is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith, Heb 11:33,34 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouth of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight… Rom 10:17 So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ – the sword of the spirit.
The good news is the battle is already won!! I’ve read the end of the book. We win!! We need to be believing believers. When we have faith, we will begin to release the spiritual authority necessary to perform signs, wonders and miracles.
The gospel boots are for BOOTING the enemy off our turf. The Living Bible says “Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God,” “..so that you will be fully prepared” – New Living.”Open your mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19).
Without gospel boots you are restricted where you can go, where you need to go, how far you can go – you can only go where the surface is smooth and safe otherwise you’ll get cut, bruised, blistered, and become immobile. Many believers today live restricted lives and are unable to fulfil their calling because they don’t have on their gospel boots. It is said that only about 2% of Christians in the western world share the gospel so how can we have a harvest!!
With your gospel boots on, you walk in the “same steps as Christ” (2 Corinthians 12:18, 1 Peter 2:21), touching people as Jesus did in everyday life.
Just as God spoke to Joshua so too He speaks to us. Joshua 1:3 “Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given to you. V9 be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
So why do we struggle to put on our gospel boots? We think evangelism is for the evangelist and we may not know how to share our faith. If someone had three minutes to live could you share the gospel clearly in three minutes? Many have the fear of man and think people won’t be interested. Get equipped to share the gospel. The Bible clearly says “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” John 4:35
Recently after praying I sensed I would be talking to an elderly lady in town. I saw an older lady in a wheelchair and started to chat to her. She was 90 years old, visiting from Australia, and was celebrating her 90th birthday in NZ. After sharing the gospel she asked Jesus into her life and as soon as she finished praying a sparrow came and landed on her foot. It was like the Father was saying “My eye is on the sparrow how much more will I look after you.” There are needy people all around us. Go into your day with God’s eyes expecting Him to lead you to those who need to know Him.
“If you love me you will keep my commandments.” The fear of the Lord compels us to obey. We are commanded in Mark 16:15 “to go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” So what is ‘the gospel’? In simple terms the heart of the gospel is believing and trusting God. Believing you have sinned, repenting from your sin, believing Jesus died for you on the cross and asking Him into your life to be your Saviour and Lord. The words of the gospel are ‘the seed’ that must be planted into people’s hearts to bring about salvation. Good works plough the field making it ready for the seed to be planted and water the seed after it’s planted.
We are all called to be witnesses – Acts 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses….. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower us to witness.
“As He is, so are we in this world” – we are all soul winners.
Let’s take New Zealand for Jesus, ask for souls and keep those gospel boots on. General Booth said “my best men are women!
1 John 3:8 The Son of God appeared for this purpose that He might destroy the works of the devil. Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Matt. 9:37 the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
YOU ARE A MIGHTY ARMY AND YOU WERE CREATED – FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS.
Micah 4:13 paraphrase “On your feet, Daughter of Zion! I’m remaking you into a people invincible.”
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine; for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you. And nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
Sometimes it’s a tricky line between what is my responsibility and what is God’s. God has given us resources, talents, and opportunities so we want to steward those correctly. We know Jesus is the one building His church (Matt 16:18) but we know He wants to use us. (2 Chron 16:9).
We’re all no doubt familiar with the jugglers who keep the plates spinning on poles. My suggestion is that sometimes we just need to let the plates drop. If we try and keep all the plates spinning we’ll eventually burn out, drop out, run out or just plain check out. I’m not talking about abdicating or being irresponsible – I’m talking about surrendering.
Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden is light. And that we are to cast our burden upon the Lord and He will sustain us, never allowing us to be shaken. (Psalm 55:22). There are times when we need to say “Ok God, this is too much for me, I’m just going to let these plates drop – I can’t keep running round keeping them spinning. If You don’t like the sound of crashing china then You can keep them spinning.”
In Mark 1 Jesus was at the house of Simon Peter and his brother Andrew, possibly relaxing after a busy morning at the local synagogue, teaching and ministering to a man with an unclean spirit. Being the Sabbath the people waited till the sun went down then they all found where Jesus was and came to be healed. It says “the whole city had gathered at the door” (v33). I wonder when Jesus got to bed that night? But He still managed to get up when it was still dark and go out to pray. Obviously the people were knocking on the door at first light as Simon and others went out looking for Jesus. They found Him and said “Everyone is looking for you” (v37).
Faced with such a need, and in line with His mission, we would expect Jesus to continue ministering to the people out of His deep heart of compassion. Surprisingly He said “Grab your bags boys, we’re moving on” (or words to that effect). My take on this is that He perceived it was appropriate to leave all those spinning plates and if they fell…? Well, His Father would take care of them.
There was only one Saviour, only one Son of God, only one Messiah – but He could still walk away from tremendous needs and trust His Father to orchestrate the big picture. Is it time for you to do the same with the circumstances of your life?
In Mark 4 Jesus was asleep in the boat and the disciples were panicking as the waves of the storm were breaking into the boat. They woke Jesus up and said “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re dying!” Interesting how we tend to interpret adverse circumstances as a sign of God’s lack of concern for us.
Anyway, to restate this situation in terms of the point I’m making, the disciples saw that the plates were about to drop and they wanted Jesus to fix the problem. Jesus, of course, did fix the problem and then once there was some peace and quiet he said (my paraphrase) “What’s the problem guys? Just because you think things are getting out of control doesn’t mean you can’t trust me or my heavenly Father. I said we were going to the other side but you obviously didn’t believe me. Let it go. Believe my words. Chill. Don’t judge by what your eyes see or your ears hear. Now get out the oars and put your back into it cos we’re certainly not going anywhere by sail.”
Trusting in the Lord with all of our heart and not our mind (Prov 3:5) sometimes means we come to our Heavenly Father with an attitude of “I’m not being irresponsible but I give up trying to keep the plates spinning. If they drop, they drop”.
This was one of the many challenges given by Darlene Cunningham, co founder of Youth with A Mission, here in Tauranga (NZ) last week, but this is the one that captured my attention the most.
Darlene shared how she was living in a country where it wasn’t the custom to do recycling so she didn’t do it. She was asked by someone “don’t you believe in recycling?” and she said “Yes I do”. But her response really convicted and challenged her because if she did actually believe in recycling it would be reflected in her actions.
It caused me to question how many things do I really believe are right but they aren’t part of my lifestyle. If I really believe in God’s Word and His commands does that necessarily mean I am actively doing them and if not why not? If Jesus is Lord of my life surely doing the right thing and obeying His commands is not an option but imperative if my desire is to be pleasing to my Master and to be in the centre of His will. Am I a believing believer in all God says in the Bible? Am I acting out my beliefs faithfully, regularly?
After some soul searching I realized I still have a long way to go to be like Jesus.
We are all on a journey in our faith walk with Jesus and thankfully God doesn’t condemn us when we fail, in fact it’s quite the opposite. As any loving earthly father picks up his toddler when he stumbles and falls while learning to walk, so too our Heavenly Father is right there with us when we stumble or are weak in our faith, encouraging us on and forgiving our shortcomings . Our part is to desire with all our hearts to be pleasing to our Saviour and to check in daily to make sure we’re on the right track and if not be quick to repent and receive forgiveness for our failures. We need to live with a humble, teachable heart, always seeking to please our Lord.
Living a life of faith is the only way for us to grow so that means we don’t just do what we’ve always done or we will get what we’ve always got. We cannot please God this way. When was the last time you did something for the first time? The faith life is one of risk and challenge, stepping out of our comfort zone, being as sheep in the midst of wolves, trusting God when the situation looks impossible, but obeying because we know God has told us to do it. God never said it would be easy but that He would always be with us. The life of faith is a life of living on the edge and extending our borders often into the unknown. Isn’t it wonderful we weren’t created for the ordinary! Life is meant to be an adventure, with God partnering with us to achieve His purposes.
It’s great for my soul, and essential, to have regular spiritual checkups and may God continue to challenge us all by asking “do your actions reflect your beliefs?”
Just as Easter symbolises the beginning of new life perhaps it’s symbolic that Lynne and I begin a new chapter of our lives this Easter. After 20 years of local authority finance I finish work at the Waikato Regional Council just before Easter and then straight after that Easter weekend we join with a 2 month YWAM (Youth With a Mission) outreach “Activate Love”. That outreach will see us join with 100 young people from all over the world who are coming to NZ to help re-evangelise NZ 200 years after Samuel Marsden first preached the gospel. We’ll be part of one of the teams that will be sent out throughout NZ to assist local churches in their mission to their community.
After the YWAM outreach we return to Tauranga in June and begin a new chapter of our lives, trusting God to open doors of ministry as He has been prompting us over the years.
We’ve spent most of our married lives in Hamilton so it’s a big move to put our goods in storage and head off into our future, based in Tauranga. God’s call on our lives has been clear to us but it’s been many years before the timing was right. Making that final decision was quite a struggle but I had set myself (and God) a deadline of Sunday Feb 1st to determine God’s leading so I could give my employers two months notice (or not at all!). Lynne was sure but I just couldn’t see things clearly so she prayed “Lord you’ve got to make it clear to Alan”. When I was clearing out a storage room on Saturday January 31st I found a bag of assorted cassette tapes and gave them to Lynne to sort through. One of those tapes was a message from 3 January 1993 by me entitled “Don’t Limit God”. So Lynne in her wisdom put it in the player. One of the challenges I brought to the listeners 22 years ago was “Don’t be in the same place in a year’s time”. At the end of that message Lynne and Daniel (oldest son who’s staying with us at present) and I discussed things and it wasn’t too long before I said “Ok, I’ll resign on Monday”. Decision made. Lynne thought God had a real sense of humour getting me to preach to myself to bring me to the point of decision! That message from 1993 is attached to this blog.
Since then the peace of God that had been so elusive in recent weeks returned.
God has given us many words in 2014 about travel; adventure; ministering together; our lives are just beginning; the season of preparation is over. Many of those words were repeated several times in different circumstances. So we knew God was giving us some strong clues and now the time has come to step out.
We really aren’t sure what our lives will look like after the YWAM outreach but we are confident that God has gone before us and will lead us as we settle in Tauranga and look for opportunities to preach, teach, minister, run prophetic art workshops and otherwise seek to equip the saints.
Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
Don’t limit God, 3 Jan-93. Fountain City Christian Centre, Hamilton:
Recently I had so much trouble getting a newsletter finalised. I got distracted and somehow the newsletter just disappeared from view on my computer screen. Obviously I touched something I shouldn’t have. After about an hour of trying to retrieve it I thought I would have one more try the following day. Praise God I found it. Perseverance won in the end!
This has got me thinking about life. Often when things don’t seem to be working or our prayers don’t seem to be answered we can be prone to give up and let go of the promises of God. This can happen just before our breakthrough. One of the meanings of ‘perseverance’ is ‘going on until success is met with’.
Perseverance is such a great quality to have and according to scripture “blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him”. Also scripture says that ‘perseverance brings proven character’. In Romans 15:4 it says that through perseverance and the encouragement of Scripture we might have hope and then in verse 5 it goes on to say that God gives us perseverance. So I guess He just needs our desire to persevere to see His promises come to pass. In 2 Thessalonians 1:4 it says how perseverance and faith help us to endure the difficult times. And in Romans 2 it says God will give eternal life to those who persevere in doing good, seeking after the glory, honour and immortality that He offers.
In summary, some of the virtues of perseverance as a believer are – seeing God’s promises fulfilled in our lives, receiving the crown of life, proven character, hope, endurance for difficult times, eternal life.
So maybe losing the newsletter temporarily which caused me to pen this message was so that someone could receive this word of encouragement today.
One day when things weren’t going as I would have liked, this verse came flooding into my mind. It brought me to my senses. If I am truly living a life of faith and trusting God and believing in His Word I am able to live victoriously every day. I don’t like admitting this but that’s not always my testimony.
There are those unexpected life events and trials that seem to dictate that I have every reason to lose my joy and maybe we even think “who wouldn’t feel blah going through this situation, or this pain or this sickness or disappointment?” But the fact remains for us as believers, that God has this day sussed for us. He has made today. His mercies are new every morning, to draw upon, for whatever we have ahead of us. This doesn’t mean it will be easy or be pain free or that we’ll be understood or we will feel great but it does mean that because the day is made by the Lord, we, in faith, can choose to rejoice and be glad in it.
Horatio Stafford who lived in the late 1800’s is an example of living each day rejoicing in God. He penned the well known hymn “It is well with my soul” after many traumatic events in his life which I found too sad to mention.
James 1:2-4 says “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
I desire to be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, don’t you? At the end of our time on earth what will our character be like? What lessons will we have learned because we were guided by what God says and not by how we felt in any given situation. God’s ways seems so illogical at times. All the more reason to choose to live by faith in His Word and His amazing love for each one of us.
Isaiah 55:8-9
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways
and My thoughts than your thoughts.
So rejoice and be glad! We are in the family of God and we have so much to be thankful for.
Revival begins with us as we live in faith and have our hearts right before God.
Here’s a “snippet” from some of that message:
If I were to ask you do you deliberately sin? I’m sure you would say “no way.” A very challenging verse is found in Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
We are all on a faith journey but we can be unbelieving believers in some areas of our lives. What are we doing about those areas of unbelief? Are we just staying in unbelief or are we pushing through and grabbing hold of the promises of God related to that unbelief and declaring them until the words go from our head to our heart and becomes a belief. Our goal should be to not remain in our unbelief in any area. We aren’t to be condemned by this as we are all guilty of it as we are all on a faith journey.
The Bible says that “without faith it’s impossible to please God.” We all want to please God so having a strong faith is imperative for an overcoming life. We need to ask ourselves “what areas do I find hard to believe and what am I doing about it? What scriptures do I need to claim. What promises do I need to believe and declare until it resonates with my spirit and becomes a belief?”
A life of faith means living outside our comfort zone and taking risks.
Our breakthrough is often on the other side of our fears.
Am I continually growing in God? Am I stepping out on the water and taking risks trusting Jesus to take me by the hand? I love the quote “Attempt something so hard that unless God intervenesit’s bound to fail.” It’s a challenge for us all.
We need to actively pray against unbelief
REPENT – receive God’s forgiveness
REBUKE satan’s influence because of our unbelief and renounce the lies surrounding unbelief.
REPLACE the sin of unbelief by affirming the truth, renewing our minds continually and memorizing and meditating on it.
RECEIVE the infilling and empowering work of the Holy Spirit to live in the truth and faith
The good news is that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith. If we are willing to partner with Him He will take us on in our faith journey encouraging us to step out and do great exploits for Him.
