Do our prayers change the mind of God? Does our obedience cause Him to choose a path of redemption for us?

In short, no. God’s planning is supreme—we have not the power to change His mind. However, this does not discredit prayer. Prayer still holds power and worth in both our relationship with Him.

Acts 5:1-11 tells the harrowing story of Ananias and Sapphira, two characters in the early church. They sell a property in order to donate the funds to the church but held back some funds even though they said they were giving it all. One by one, each lied in front of the church and was immediately struck down by God.

This world has problems. The world carries temptation. God Himself tempts no one (cf. James 1:13), but the tempter brings his darkness to taunt, tempt, distract, harm, and ensnare us (cf. Ephesians 6:12).

Making a conscious effort to love others and love God, especially before ourselves, is one of the most practical ways to improve your walk in faith.

In fact, God created us in His image. Why is that detail important?

This time in our lives, the world that we live in... these things are seeking to drag us down. Especially now, we’re dealing with new kinds of personal struggles and world difficulties, etc.... Let God’s word remind you that all things happen for a purpose, and that God has things in mind far above what we can conceive.

The average human eukaryotic cell has two meters (six feet eight inches) of DNA packed into it. As you know, the human body has trillions of cells, each containing those two meters of DNA. Those code who YOU are.

Last time I brought you good news about our faith—it’s the same faith that called a polytheist to father an entire civilization and religion. But those feel like large shoes to fill. Have you ever felt like you should “be there by now” when it comes to your faith? Perhaps you feel that loving God and finding faith should be easier after all this time and His good works. But the truth is, we are completely unable to love God wholeheartedly by our own accord.

Key text: Hebrews 10:39-11:1

Has it ever dawned on you that there were no “Jews” before Abraham? God called him out of his polytheistic culture (him not knowing WHO this YHWH is) and followed! He did this by faith, the same faith that Hebrews argues we hold.