Jim Howard | Spirit of Faith Ministries

Blessed and Prosperous

3 John 2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

At the beginning of a new year we often receive greetings from friends wishing us a happy new year or a blessed and prosperous new year. The greeting is encouraging but usually doesn’t come with instructions on how to be blessed and prosperous. In 3 John 2, God expresses to us His desire for the kind of life we should live and He also gives us a key on how to live it. Notice verse 3: For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

He said that we need the truth in us and then we need to walk in the truth.

The beginning of a new year is a good time to examine our commitment to the truth of God’s Word, but we also need to do it on a continual basis. As we do, I hope we will realize that the Bible is not just a “you ought to do it” book, but it is mostly a “how to do it” book. The Bible is your instruction book for how to get to heaven and also how to live a blessed and prosperous life here on earth.

The word “bible” literally means, a book. It can also form an acronym for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth, which is a good description. I believe we should all strengthen our commitment to time in God’s Word. The result will be life lived at a new level of blessing, prosperity, and health.

In addition to personal Bible study, take advantage of the opportunities offered by your church to learn Bible truth and how to walk in it. Attend evening services and Sunday School. If you are not in a church where the truth of God’s Word is taught, find one.  Consider enrolling in a systematic course of study such as Life Christian University. http://www.lcus.edu

We can look to the future with excitement as we continue to seek God’s truth and walk in it.  Be Blessed!

In 2 Corinthians 4:13, it is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Sometimes we can best understand what something is by defining the opposite. The opposite of faith is fear. Therefore, the opposite of a “spirit of faith” is a “spirit of fear”.

We probably all have had a little episode of fear occasionally as a result of something we have seen or heard. This is fairly normal behavior, but a person with a “spirit of fear” is controlled by fear. They are afraid when there is nothing, in the natural, to prompt the fear. They are in fear when it doesn’t make any sense to be in fear.

Just as fear comes by what we hear, so does faith “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). A lot of saints have occasional episodes of faith, usually during a good church service, and as soon as they hear some bad news the faith is gone.

A person with a “spirit of faith” is controlled by faith. They will have faith when there is no natural reason to have faith. They will be in faith when it doesn’t make any sense to be in faith. They have developed faith to the point that they are not controlled by the natural, but by the Word and the Spirit. The truth of God’s Word has become more real than the lies of the devil or the facts of the world. This goes beyond just hearing the Word, even beyond believing the Word. It must include speaking the Word.

Spirit of Faith Ministries desires to help build and establish in you a “spirit of faith” through the preaching, teaching, and demonstration of God’s Word.

All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.