Life and ministry can often be compared to driving down a road filled with detours. Our best plans and expectations can be met with barriers and changes in direction that we never anticipated or desired. Our natural reactions to these detours in life can be the same as if we were turning onto a detour in the road. Discomfort, disappointment, irritation, uncertainty and even fear can fill our hearts because of these unexpected changes. However, the truth is that God never promised us a smooth path on which to travel through our years. If we could always be assured of nothing surprising, we would become complacent and have no need for faith. We would also have very little need for personal growth. God knows this. (I often say, “There are no surprises in heaven, only good surprises from heaven.”) Though God is not always the cause of life’s detours, you can be assured that, within them, He will provide you with the potential for incredible opportunities to build your faith and experience personal growth.

Understanding God’s will for all His children will help you focus on His will for you. Once you do understand this, two things will change your perspective about the detours you may be experiencing. First, it is God’s will to watch over you with every step you take. Knowing this will help you find the strength to overcome the feelings that will try to dominate you while on the detour. You can turn the feelings of discomfort, disappointment and all that accompanies them into the joy of the Lord. You can have an expectation that God has a plan for something good that is greater than your detour. Second, your belief in God’s abilities to fulfill His Word will strengthen you. You will find   the bumpy circumstances you are experiencing cannot stop you. These two changes in your perspective will lead you to press your faith into action. Doing so will cause your outlook on life to effectively take you through the detour to your destination. When you arrive, you will be changed. You will be well able to cope with what awaits you there. As you can see, detours are the learning-laboratories of life. Every detour has within it the potential for God to put something divinely sourced and special inside of you. He could never do this while you were on that smooth, uneventful road you just left.

Let me validate what I have shared with Scripture. The Apostle Paul’s prayer for his Colossian brothers and sisters in Colossians 1:9-14 provides this validation. It can be a life changing prayer. Apply Paul’s prayer to yourself in the midst of whatever discomfort the experience of unexpected change is bringing you. Read these Scriptures carefully. Read them prayerfully!

Colossians 1:9-14 (NKJV) “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; {10} that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; {11} strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; {12} giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. {13} He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, {14} in whom we have redemption through His blood, [a] the forgiveness of sins.”

The Apostle’s prayer has some indisputable and reassuring truths that you can apply right now to your circumstances. These truths will explain why God allows the detour upon which you find yourself and are now experiencing. I will list these truths very briefly, but I encourage you to take the time to meditate on each of them and apply them to your situation. (If you are not currently on a detour, be assured you will be at some time in life. Today, Colossians 1:9-14 can equip you to minister to those who are.) Here are the truths that will set you free and keep you moving toward your destiny.

1. The difficulties you face can be the very things that fill you with the knowledge of God’s will. They can form the well from which you draw divinely sourced “wisdom and spiritual understanding.” It is important to understand they hold within them this valuable opportunity for growth and maturity.
2. The experiences you have at each bump in the road on your detour can provide the opportunity to be “fruitful in every good work.” Be assured that the bumps in your life will provide ample opportunity for doing good things to demonstrate your faith and determination. This will happen whether you are just going into the bump or on the way out.
3. There are no substitutes for your personal experiences. (Another of my favorite sayings is, “You can argue with many things, but never with a person’s personal experience.”) All experiences, whether good or not, offer you the gift of “increasing in the knowledge of God.”  Be sure you do not neglect this gift when circumstances offer it to you.
4. Detours are the best teachers of the meaning of strength and patience. Be a good student. Let the detours teach you what only they can. In verse 11, the Apostle wrote this about strength and patience: “strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;” Notice that detours afford the opportunity to be strengthened according to God’s “glorious power.”  This power has no limitations. It is devil-busting power! Its purpose, according to Paul’s words, is to empower your ability to be joyful in the midst of patiently enduring your detours. It is the power to get past the detours as a winner and champion for Jesus. My experience has taught me that frustration with my detours required supernaturally sourced patience that my flesh could not provide. The Spirit of God faithfully gave it to me, and I had joy!

These four truths ought to make you shout. Go ahead and shout! Didn’t that feel good? Jesus is faithful. He will perform His Word over every detour you encounter. The detours will become faith and character-building places where you meet with God and leave the encounter shouting. Yes, I get excited when I think about God’s sovereignty over my life. I know you feel the same. You truly are a winner and a champion for Jesus. Start shouting like one. Start believing like one. Start acting like one.

I will leave you with two final thoughts from Scripture. First, all things really do work together for good because our detours provide the raw materials from which we are “conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:28-29) Second, because we recognize our detours to be the ground upon which this happens, we become “in all things, more than conquerors” (Romans 8:37). Now, go out and be the champion for Jesus that you are. Give the devil a headache… and shout while you do it!

Below is a compilation of one of my student’s reflections on the theological definitions she learned in Bible school. As you study the definitions in this course of study, refer to these reflections to add another point of view. They will help you understand the definitions. (Provided by Tarra Connell (Student of Dr. Abramson))

Dr. Bob Abramson

Redemption:

My life wasn’t my own; I was enslaved by my sin. I was like an animal chained and caged with no freedom anywhere in sight. Sitting on a hill, my rusty, locked cage sat. Sealed shut by my evil master. I had earned my imprisonment from the start, my release was nowhere in sight. I had no ability to obtain liberation from that cage. As I stood longing for deliverance, a Man ascended the hill. He told me He bought my freedom. Paid my ransom and my chains were broken, my cage door was opened. He was my new Master.

Justification:

Justification is like an episode of Matlock (a TV program). I’m the desperate defendant who’s depending on the legal miracle worker for release. The courtroom’s packed, the Judge is positioned high above on His bench. The charges are leveled against me. I have committed my crime and Matlock is my only hope of being cleared. There’s a long table filled with evidence, exhibits of my guilt to the side of the courtroom. In my guilt the stage is set for Matlock to work his wonder. To get me freed for a wrong I have no right to be cleared of. Just as the gavel begins to fall and my imprisonment is about to become my reality, Matlock storms the bench with something. It’s a piece of evidence called Jesus. This exhibit overturns the table of my guilt and clears me before the Judge.

Sanctification:

It’s a process of stepping up into God’s potter’s wheel. Being shaped more and more into what He has called me to be. Allowing Him to trim off the bits of me that don’t please Him. It’s being willing to seek His hand of formation more than my comfort. It’s realizing that He has a beautiful masterpiece in mind and seeing His potential within my every layer. It’s allowing Him to set me aside. Giving Him permission to store me wherever He chooses. To place me with whoever He wishes. It’s surrendering my will to His creative Holiness. It’s casting off evil to be forged in His image bit by bit.

Reconciliation:

A Father and son came to be at odds. The son was pure evil and there was no way they could occupy the same town. The child went off, a rule breaker through and through. The Father loved His son so much that He sacrificed His own comfort and went out to find the fugitive. He left His mansion, a home of comfort and purity to lift the son out of His doomed existence. He cared so much for their relationship, He settled things so they could be compatible and live together again. As He called out to the Son, the boy turned and looked back. He dropped his baggage and ran to his Daddy. In their embrace, the past was gone and they were once again friends.

Regeneration:

I was a tree. Speckled leaves and wilted branches. Blight had disfigured me. Crinkled leaves dropping. Dehydrated remnants of flowing life. Canker rot gnarled and twisted my branches. My infection had made me lifeless. Not a fruit to be found. No seed in sight. I was a shell of my design. But the Sun sent itself on my behalf. Cut through the darkness. Caused the clouds to sprinkle their cleansing onto my trunk. At once all remnants of disease were gone. My branches were regrown with purpose. My leaves reborn thick with life. Buds and fruits started to form. I had been imparted again with my purpose.

Expiation:

Walking into work Monday morning I discovered the doctor’s office door had been violated. Instead of a pristine white, the door now was canvas to a multicolored array of scribbles, guilt, shame, sickness, lawbreaker all scrawled across its face. I was going to have to pay for this. Any reason for punishment at the office was celebrated. Just as I started to wallow in my isolated despair, the shadow of a Man entered my office. Said He heard I was in need. Because of my cry He was going remove my stains. One swipe of His hand and the door was wiped clean. Restored, yet with an added brilliance. My day was spared.

Sin:

Sin. A three-letter word that holds so much power. Something we have all done. Something like a disease that left untreated will keep us separated from God. If we break it down sin is anything we think, say or do against God’s holy rules. We all have a natural instinct and desire to sin. The bigger picture of this three-letter word is that sin is the reason Jesus was born and why He had to take my place. Each lash He received was because of my sin. Each verbal taunt He endured was for my sin. My sin became the nails that fastened Him to the cross. I placed Him there but yet He stayed for me. His blood was shed to make payment for my sin. My sin caused me to become the Prodigal daughter. I wandered away and out of site of God. Yet while I was living riotously, God was still looking out over the horizon. Still waiting for the day when I would become broken and return back to Him. Make a turn and get back on the right path back to His house. I have really been thinking about the cost of my sin. Thinking about how Jesus paid the price but yet I still do it. That the Word says that once I accept Jesus’ payment for my sin that God casts it as far as the east is from the west. It’s hard to wrap my head around it. Hard not to feel condemned sometimes in and by my sin. Sometimes it seems so easy to fall into a cycle of sin. Where my sin causes me to feel condemned and I slip into another facet of sin. I have been praying that I continue to have a revelation of what God did for me on the cross. How my sins were washed away. The amazing thing is that when I stay focused on the love of the cross and the love of God there is a strength that builds up not to sin. I am so thankful for how far God has brought me and how He is walking with me as I continue to mold more and more into His likeness and into the person He originally made me to be. Sin is a powerful word, but Jesus is the most powerful word in all of creation!

Grace:

Grace to me is like a blanket from God. It’s like when I think about being a kid and carrying around my security blanket. When I was cold it kept me warm in all of its fuzziness. When I was scared it came up and covered me. When I was curious it came along to investigate and seemed to have special super powers of security and protection. All of these things reminded me of my parents love. That even when I wasn’t with them, their presence, protection and love where right by my side. God’s grace is like a blanket of favor, security, power and protection that goes with me everywhere.

Propitiation:

Propitiation for me is rooted at the foot of the cross. There I sit a humbled sinner. I am crouched at the feet of Jesus realizing that my sins have nailed him there. My very existence are the beams where He became a curse for me. My sin has created a chasm between me and a Holy God. My sin has boxed me off from the plan and purpose that God packed me with. My sin has offended God, it has hurt God, it has angered God. But in His mercy God sent Jesus so that I would be not only cleansed by God of my sin but also be restored to a place of favor. Like the Prodigal He would remove the dirty garment of my sin with a fine robe of a new life in Christ. In this process Jesus would remove my stains but would also be a fire extinguisher to my deserved wrath of God. He not only made me clean but He place a crown of favor on me in the process. All at the cost of His life, of His blood, of His will. I can’t even put words on the wholeness of it. I can’t even put words to the grief I feel at having put Him in that position to take the wrath I deserved. I can’t even comprehend that He willingly went there for me, it wasn’t a struggle. He wasn’t forced. He chose it for my sake. I can’t even thank Him enough for not only making me clean but for giving me favor as a child of God. It is so overwhelming in every respect. It totally takes my words away. I am overwhelmed by His mercy, overtaken by His love for me, amazed by the strength He had in my place. As I am at the cross I weep as I realize what my King did for me. So thankful.

Repentance:

I’m a traveler. Walking the established path of my life. I’m carrying my will, my plans, and my emotions as my baggage. Wheeling the cart of my desires behind me. Always knowing that I need to stay on the path marked out to reach my goal. As quickly as the wind blows, my heavy load urges me to wander off the trail. I know the best way to get there, the most pleasurable track to wheel the belongings of my free will onto. The track I’m supposed to be on seems narrow and boring. It isn’t as smooth as I would like it to be. I break the confines of the true path. As I move off course, something calls me back. I stand for a moment in uncertain deliberation. At once I decide to correct my trip and go back. As I continue forward the side trails call again but I have decided to turn away from my path rebellion. I know The Way.

Rebellion:

Rebellion is me age 4. We are at he grocery store and I have just left with my little quarter machine treasure. I am walking out next to my Mom. She spots someone she knows and they start to chit chat. I decide I’m ready to get home. She tells me to wait with her. I know exactly and specifically what she wants me to do. I decide that I know best and turn directly away from what she instructed me to do. I look at her talking and make a conscious decision to walk towards the car. As I take a step out into the parking lot, an oncoming adult knocks me over. I am separated from my Mom and in pain. The worst part is that my decision could have caused something much worse. What if the person was a car?

Covenant:

To me the word covenant means a contract between me and God signed in the blood of Jesus. It’s a draft outlining the relationship I have with God by believing that Jesus was my savior. It’s meeting at the negotiation table. Laying my sins on the table and His goodness to cover them up. The moment I believe it becomes a guarantee of my freedom, my blessing, my protection, my healing, my redemption, my sanctification and so much more. It’s like a written permission note for the Holy Spirit to come be my comforter and guide. It’s a sign-off where I authorize relinquishment of myself. Through the signature of His Son’s life I am sealed as my Father’s.

Born Again:

Being born again is turning your life over to Jesus. It’s pulling up the table to celebrate. Laying down your own desires, your own agendas, your own will over your life. Placing them down next to a beautifully decorated cake. Jesus lights the candles as you celebrate the day He picked up everything you discarded and wrapped your life in bright paper and bows. It’s realizing that once you accept Him, your life has an eternity to celebrate. It’s a chance to let your life be wrapped in new meaning, new purpose, new hope, new significance through believing in Him. Believing that He sacrificed His life for your celebration.

Atonement:

Total darkness, arms bound and shackled to a chair. Gun pointed to my head. My accuser taunts me with an invoice of my outrageous debt. My life is the payment due and preparations are being made to collect. My debt is greater than anything I could ever pay back. Goes back more generations than anyone can count. Seems all hope is lost and my life is in the negative. Just before the trigger clicks, someone enters with authority. He says he has come to be my substitute, to settle my account for good. He takes a seat and makes payment for me by laying down His life.

Shaping your daily decisions into steps of faith, along a path of good success and significance, is often a part of life’s challenging puzzle.  We all have seen what we believed were good, solid steps become our missteps. Even with the best of judgment, this happens. How can you be assured that the majority of your steps will be on solid ground and lead to something good? This is a vital question as there will be times when you find yourself totally in the dark, without a clue about what is coming next. This is especially true when your missteps have led you into trouble. It is also true when trouble comes unexpectedly, without any mistakes in judgment on your part. Both of these circumstances will happen. In many cases, you will find you have no answer for either of them. Then, there are also times when the opportunity for something good shows up. Making proper judgments that lead to solid steps of faith toward something good can also be a challenge, a puzzle.

The answer to finding assurance that the majority of your steps will be on solid ground and lead you to something good is found in God’s Word. There is no shortage of God’s wisdom available to you to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. It can be seen everywhere around you, if you will include the Holy Spirit as your Guide. Let Him direct your eyes and ears. Allow Him to show you His wisdom. Show Him your faith. If you will, you can discern the correct path for your steps to take toward victory. The prophet Habakkuk spoke of this truth. In Habakkuk 2:14a (NKJV), he said, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD…”

 Let me give you this spiritual food for thought, regarding how to correctly judge the steps you should take to stay on solid ground. (Regardless of whether you are facing trouble or opportunity, this advice works equally well to see the pieces of your puzzle come together properly.) When you find yourself in the dark, without any answers, there is only one completely dependable source to whom you can turn. His name is the Helper, the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said, in John 16:13 (NIV), “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” The Holy Spirit, who is “the Spirit of Truth, will always illuminate the answer you need. Therefore, when you have no idea what to do next, set your heart toward Him. He will provide the understanding you need to proceed with confidence. Experience has taught me that it will be just as He said it will be, every time and in every way.

As you can see, the Holy Spirit will never fail you. Make Him your companion through all the journeys of your life. Give Him the highest priority in your decision-making processes. He will show you the truths of which you need to aware. He will illuminate the paths you travel. Light will flood your life. Darkness will have no choice but to flee. With the Holy Spirit as your companion and guide, you can expect the journey will be just as He says it will be.

I strongly encourage you to let absolute dependence on God find its way into your heart and mind. Give it a permanent home. Let this unwavering dependence on God be the deciding factor in all of your decisions. Do this and you will move ahead in the light of His glory, because you chose to walk a path of obedience and faith. Then, you will see His glory released as He leads and guides you to your destiny.  Always remember that God never demands perfection. He just asks you to do your best and let Him take care of the rest. His faithfulness guarantees He will perform His Word over you. Demand of yourself an unfailing determination to be fruitful. Make a difference for Jesus. You will gain the opportunity to let His glory be seen by other as your fruitfulness demonstrates His faithfulness. Now, reflect on these questions.

1. How diligent have you been to include the Holy Spirit in your daily walk through life?
2. How responsive have you been when God called you to turn the direction of your life to match the direction of His will for you?
3. What barriers to faithfulness might be found in the patterns of your life today? How do these barriers cause you to resist allowing God to fit new pieces of your life’s puzzle into place?
4. What could you change to become more submissive to His will for your life?

Find a few friends in the Lord and make these questions and the thoughts of this article the focus of a discussion. It will make for a great fellowship group meeting or just a conversation around a cup of tea. More importantly, it just might change you forever into an even stronger winner and champion for Jesus. That is who you are destined to be. Never doubt, it will be just as He said it will be.

As I read Pastor Hagin’s account of this crippled man’s healing, I remembered Elijah’s words to King Ahab (1 Kings 17:1 (NKJV)). He said, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.” Three and a half years later, Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundant rain” (1 Kings 18:41 (NKJV)). Elijah never doubted what God told him. Now, after all this time, the coming miracle would depend upon the words that came from Elijah’s mouth. Some things never change. Many times, miracles depend on what comes from our mouths.

Elijah sent his servant to look toward the sea to report back on the coming rain. 1 Kings 18: 43 (NKJV) tells us the servant reported, “There is nothing.” Even when his servant came back seven times with the same negative report, Elijah did not waver. He chose to steadfastly believe what God said about what the authority of his words. Even though it looked impossible because the sky was clear, he refused to consider any other possibility but rain. He simply kept sending the servant back, waiting patiently until the rain came. He said it and it was going to rain! Elijah knew, as we do, that with God, all things are possible. He never forgot it was to be only at his word that God would move.

Some things never change. We are tempted to doubt and settle for a spiritual drought, even though God promised that if we open our mouths in faith, it would rain down an abundance of His strong presence. We settle for dry places, when God promised living waters. We settle for sickness, when God promised healing. We settle for poverty, when God promised we would prosper in all things and be in health as our souls prosper (3 John 2). As I continued to read Pastor Hagin’s testimony of the crippled man’s healing, I had to ask myself whether I had been settling for less than God promised. Was I willing to speak miracles into reality? What about you? Are you willing, without doubt or wavering?

Faith is never a function of what you see as the natural circumstances around you. It never depends on what someone else says or does. Faith simply believes what God said is true. One of the powerful truths Jesus said is found in Mark 11:23-24. The NIV version says, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. {24} Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  The timeless principle is this. There is power and authority in your words when they agree with God’s words. (Remember, principles are not worth much until they are put into practice.)

Now would be a good time to reflect on how your faith has been functioning. Have you been operating in the faith God has given you, or have you been reluctant to speak into existence what you have not yet seen? Perhaps there has been a dry period concerning faith in your life. If you have been in a faith drought, it is the time to say, “I hear the sound of abundant rain!” Just believe what you say, and like Elijah, wait patiently until God honors your words… and He will!

It may be that you are in a place of transition as you read this. Perhaps it feels like you are never going to get beyond today’s circumstances. I have good news. Yesterday is dead and gone and today will soon become another yesterday. Your yesterdays may have been good, bad or ugly, but they are not qualified to determine your tomorrows. Only God and the words you speak can determine them. God is the God of your tomorrows. Put your faith in Him into action. It will move mountains. Keep speaking what you have believed and prayed for.  Speak it into life and speak life into it! God is faithful.

Now, bathe your drying up dreams and visions in the living waters the Lord Jesus Christ has provided you. Do what the Prophet Malachi said in Habakkuk 2:2. Write your vision and make it plain. Then, speak life into it until it comes to pass. The only way you lose is if you quit. Quitters never win, but winners never quit! You are a winner and a champion for Jesus. You have the devil under your feet. Open our mouth and give that loser, Satan, the kind of headache that only words spoken in faith can bring. Now, go tell someone what God is about to do. Tell them you hear the sound of abundant rain. Declare to them that a flood of God’s mercy, grace and favor are coming.

Dr. Bob Abramson

Please forgive me if what you are reading seems emotional in its nature, but I know the value of faithfulness. I have admired and tried to be like the people I have described to you. I have served and been served by them. Let there be no doubt that God is looking for faithful people who will do exactly what Jesus said in Mark 11:22, “Deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow me.”  The reason I bring up this Scripture is that I know faithfulness is, by it’s very nature, sacrificial and costly. Faithfulness is the highest form of obedience.

I invite you to look honestly through the mirror of your soul. Who do you see? Is it a person who has lacked commitment to give the highest priority to service to God? I hope not. I pray that you see yourself as a person who was always willing to make the decision to deny personal fear or comforts, and take up the cross of service to God, every day, regardless of the cost. Faithfulness is a powerful character trait that God uses to spread the Gospel. It takes everyone who values it to places of victory, fruitfulness and peace. It is the distinguishing factor in a person’s ability to achieve his or her destiny. It defines what I like to call, the heart of a devil stomping warrior for Jesus!

Now that I have shared all of this, let me speak to you about destiny. What is it? Why is it so critically important to you? What will result in your choice to press ahead past every obstacle to gain it? Let’s look at these three questions one at a time.

First, what is destiny? This term is one we hear on a regular basis from the pulpit. Allow me to give you my personal understanding of it. The New Living Translation (NLT) of Psalms 73:24 says, “You will keep on guiding me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.”  This Scripture affirms that your destiny is arrived at by faithfully following the guidance of God. Your destiny is something glorious. Let me add that destiny is the fullness of God’s blessed plan, individually and divinely designed just for you.

Second, destiny is critically important to you because when you fulfill your destiny, you fulfill your potential for maximum fruitfulness and eternal reward. You are a devil breaker and difference maker. You have your assigned part in eternity with all its battles and opportunities.

Third, what will result from your choice to press ahead past every obstacle to gain your destiny? Well, look past yourself and consider how your life could affect the destinies of countless others. You will be the difference to so many whose lives you touch. It bears repeating. You are a devil breaker and difference maker. If you fall short of your destiny, so many others will lose the chance of finding theirs. Now, that’s worth a serious thought concerning the level of your commitment to faithfully finish your race. The Apostle Paul wrote, in the Amplified Bible (AMP) version of 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.”

Consider the value of what you have just read. Has your commitment to faithfulness been strong enough? Go to the Lord in prayer and make a fresh commitment to uncompromising faithfulness. God will be pleased and you will be a blessing far beyond your own expectations.

There will be times when you reach the point in your faith journey where the only answer has to be God. Just relax! God will be waiting for you at the moment you need Him. As you climbed your Faith Mountain He will have watched over you every step of the way. At the top of your climb, in your hour of greatest testing, He will faithfully show Himself strong. He will provide.

As you read this, you may be at the beginning of a particular faith climb or half way up your Faith Mountain. You can be certain that God’s desire is that you will not try to take the climb alone. He longs for you to acknowledge Him and His presence through prayer and fellowship… every step of the way. God loves to respond to your delight and thanksgiving for His presence. He will honor your fellowship and prayers as you make your way up your mountain. I highly recommend that you cling to God and use prayer as a means to a secure and constant foothold for every step you take. As you do this, God will respond with His unique, miraculously effective system of responsive care over you. He puts it into divine motion the very second you make your prayer request known to Him.

Let me give you an example of how God responds to prayer in the midst of close fellowship with Him. We read about it in Genesis, Chapter 22. As Abraham begins to climb up one side of the mountain, his son Isaac questions from where it is that the sacrifice will come. Abraham is climbing his mountain by faith. He has no idea how God will provide. It is a climb of faith. (Isn’t that the way God always wants it to be?) The Bible says Abraham replies, telling Isaac that God will provide for Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Allow Abraham’s words to his son Isaac touch your heart. You can be sure that the same God who provided for Abraham will provide for you. Genesis 22:13-14 (NKJV) tells us, “Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. {14} And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided.””

Do whatever is necessary to keep your footing firmly planted upon the faithfulness of God. Never allow doubt to speak its lying voice, questioning whether God will be there for you. Reinforce your faith with this example in Genesis, Chapter 22. Even before Isaac asked Abraham where the sacrifice would come from, God was moving to cause a ram to climb up the other side of the mountain. The Lord also caused a thicket to grow well ahead of Abraham’s arrival at the place of sacrifice. He then prepared the ram’s path to lead into that thicket. God left nothing to chance. He is always in complete control. Here is the point. When you have no idea how God’s provision will even be possible, just let your faith strengthen you so you can keep climbing your particular mountain. If doubts continue to throw themselves in your path, trying to find their way into your heart and mind, take the time to remind yourself of Philippians 4:6-7. These verses from God’s Word provide divinely given guidelines for climbing Faith Mountains. In the New King James Version, it says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  (The Apostle Paul knew from first-hand experience that what he wrote in these verses is a biblical principle then and now.)

The formula for the peaceful exercise of a faith climb is simple. It comes in a sequence of four parts. First, regardless of how difficult the apparent sacrifice appears to be, respond with obedience. When God asks you to climb the mountain, start climbing and do not look back. He will make a way and will provide. Second, trust Him in each step of the journey. He is forever faithful and will keep you from stumbling. Third, when doubt tries to be your companion for the journey, hang onto Philippians 4:6-7. Speak these verses to yourself, the devil and anyone else who can hear them. Finally, expect that you will find your needs will meet God’s provision at the completion of the climb. Keep this one expectation large in your heart. At the high point of your obedience, you will find the high point of God’s faithfulness. This is a principle for a lifetime of success and significance. Practice it. Make it one of the primary patterns of your life and you will never be alone on your journey. Let’s give God glory.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling

And to present you faultless

Before the presence of His glory, with exceeding joy,

To God our Savior,

Who alone is wise,

Be glory and majesty,

Dominion and power,

Both now and forever.

Amen.”

(Jude 24-25 NKJV)

I want to encourage you with the words of the great Hebrew prophet Isaiah. He spoke them thousands of years ago. You may be familiar with them. They are recorded in Isaiah 43:18-19. I love the simplicity of the God’s Word Translation of these two verses. It says, “Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Don’t you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.” Think about how these words fit your life right now. Then, add what David wrote in Psalm 37 to what you just read in Isaiah 43:18-19. The New King James Version of the first eight verses of Psalm 37 provides a message straight from God’s mouth to your ears. Pick up your Bible and look closely. You will find these instructions. In Verse 1, David writes, “Do not fret.” In Verse 3, “Trust in the Lord.” In Verse 5, “Delight yourself also in the Lord” and “Commit your way to the Lord.” Finally, in both Verses 7 and 8, David repeats a powerfully comforting thought. He writes, “Rest in the Lord… Rest in the Lord.” Add these instructions to the divine assurances of Isaiah 43:18-19 and you have what you need for any transition and every season. You have a compelling and encouraging biblical case for complete confidence in Christ, as you transition into your next season.

Allow me the liberty of giving you this solid advice – Approach every transition into a new season with faith that God has a plan for you, and because He planned it, it is perfect. Also, remind yourself that God is never surprised at your circumstances. In the years I was in Fiji, I consistently told my students in the CMF School of Urban Missions that there are no surprises in heaven! God never has to deal with anything of which He was not already aware. He will always perform His Word over you in the midst of everything you face. Now, isn’t that reassuring? Therefore, be careful not to miss what God is about to do. Determine to cooperate with Him in all things, even those that surprise you. Here is one more thing to remember. What you make of every season of transition will depend on what you make of God’s Word.

When I face transitions and enter new seasons, I tell myself, Today could be my day. I will anticipate the supernatural intervention of God. With Him all things are possible and nothing is impossible. Then I take this positive attitude into the next transition or new season. I move ahead with a high expectation for great opportunities, great experiences and significant fruitfulness. I refuse to be moved by natural circumstances (and yes, this is the part of faith that requires some effort from every one of us). I remind myself as often as necessary that I have previously experienced the positive outcomes of knowing who my God is and what His Word says. In the new season I now face, only those experiences will move me! Over a number of transitions and seasons, I have known the blessings and value of allowing Isaiah 43:18-19 and those beginning verses of Psalm 37 to be my companions through whatever difficulties or challenges I faced.

When we left Fiji in 1998, we went to New York City to plant a church. I can remember walking around Manhattan with my wife Nancy, day after day, praying for God’s help in getting the church started. It was winter and very cold. We had no idea of how God was going to order our steps for this church plant. We simply refused to worry or allow the conditions we faced to discourage us. God had always been faithful and we simply knew He would again be faithful. So, as we walked and prayed, we were content to keep listening for His voice. In time, He spoke to our hearts and we got things started. This is one of many personal testimonies of His faithfulness that encourage me today. He is always willing to perform His Word over Nancy and me. He will do the same for you.

As you have seen, God’s requirements for your faith are clear. To be effective, you have to believe what He says is true, and walk into your purpose and destiny with Him in your heart. He only asks that you do your best. He will do the rest.

Are you are currently looking ahead with uncertainty to your next season of service to the Lord? If so, my advice is to demand that your faith go to new heights. Nurture and protect it. Refuse to allow anything to make it less than what it can be. Pray to build it and keep it growing. Encourage yourself that you really can do all things through Christ, because that is simply the truth. As I used to tell the CMF International Church at the Harbour Centre in Suva, God is absolute in faithfulness, infinite in power and ruler over everything you face.

Now that I have shared these encouraging thoughts with you, I want to speak specifically to those who are facing an individual (and perhaps emotional) battle within a current, difficult transition. It may seem as if you are in a personal wilderness. It probably feels like a dry and thirsty place where there seems to be no relief. If that is you, please remember, “Today could be your day.” God will release rivers of refreshing into what is your uncertainty and spiritual dryness. Treat Isaiah 43:18-19 as your personal promise from God. Exercise the instructions in Palm 37. If that is not quite enough, add one more thing from Scripture. Take to heart God’s words in Isaiah 43:13. In the Amplified Bible version, God said it this way, “I will work and who can hinder or reverse it?” Of course, the answer that is nobody, because He is God!

In conclusion, I will repeat myself one more time. “Today could be your day.” Well, go ahead and receive it by faith. Then walk into your new season of life, fully confident that God is on the throne. Secure yourself and your emotions with the fact that you are in His hands, and His awesome plan for your life will surely come to pass. Finally, let someone else hear these same words, because they are truths of God’s Word and need to be shared. As you do this, God will bring into your life amazing results. Your testimony will be as effective as mine. God will be glorified. The devil will be horrified… and you will be filled with joy. “Today could be your day!”

Dr. Bob Abramson
www.mentoringministry.com

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Biblical Characters A-C

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Biblical Characters D-G

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Biblical Characters H-K

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Biblical Characters L-R

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Biblical Characters S-Z

12 Photos

Biblical Themes and Images A-C

13 Photos

Biblical Themes and Images D-G

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Biblical Themes and Images H-K

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Biblical Themes and Images L-R

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Biblical Themes and Images S-Z

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01 Progressively Becoming More Like Christ

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02 Progressively Fulfilling the Will of God for Your Life

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03 Progressively Becoming Less and Less Like the World Around You

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04 Knowing Your Purpose in Life and Acting to Fulfill It

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As with our other free resources, you may duplicate these for use in children’s groups or individual ministry. (They are copyrighted. Please do not offer them for sale.) The lessons you will encounter can also be used effectively to create skits and other materials.

Kid’s Stuff 01-Gideon

Kid’s Stuff 02-Zacchaeus
Kid’s Stuff 03-Good Samaritan
Kid’s Stuff 04-Walks on Water
Kid’s Stuff 04-Walks on Water: Word Search Puzzle

Kid’s Stuff 05-Twelve Spies
Kid’s Stuff 05-Twelve Spies: Color the Giant 1
Kid’s Stuff 05-Twelve Spies: Color the Giant 2
KId’s Stuff 05-Twelve Spies: Color-Spy the Land
Kid’s Stuff 05-Twelve Spies: Find the Giant Maze
Kid’s Stuff 05-Twelve Spies: Word Search Puzzle
Kid’s Stuff 06-Parable of the Soils, Mark 4
Kid’s Stuff 06-Parable of the Soils, Mark-4: Word Search Puzzle
Kid’s Stuff 06-Parable of the Soils, Mark-4: Color Me Happy
Kid’s Stuff 06-Parable of the Soils, Mark-4: Color-1

Kid’s Stuff 07-The Brook Dried Up
Kid’s Stuff 07-The Brook Dried Up: Color 1
Kid’s Stuff 07-The Brook Dried Up: color 2
Kid’s Stuff 07-The Brook Dried Up: color 3
Kid’s Stuff 07-The Brook Dried Up: Word Search Puzzle
Kid’s Stuff 08-Forgive Your Friend
Kid’s Stuff 08-Forgive Your Friend: Color 1-King Judging
Kid’s Stuff 08-Forgive Your Friend: Color 2-The Debtor is Jailed

Kid’s Stuff 09-Centurian’s Faith to Heal His Slave
Kid’s Stuff 09-Centurian’s Faith to Heal His Slave: Color 1-Sick Slave
Kid’s Stuff 09-Centurian’s Faith to Heal His Slave: Color 2-Synagogue
Kid’s Stuff 09-Centurian’s Faith to Heal His Slave: Color 3-Centurian Points
Kid’s Stuff 10-Overcoming the Devil’s Temptations
Kid’s Stuff 10-Overcoming the Devil’s Temptations: Word Search Puzzle

Kid’s Stuff 11-Jonah and the Big Fish
Kid’s Stuff 11-Jonah and the Big Fish: Color 1-Fish of the Sea
Kid’s Stuff 11-Jonah and the Big Fish: Color 2-Fish Swallows Jonah
Kid’s Stuff 11-Jonah and the Big Fish: Color 3-Jonah Tossed Overboard
Kid’s Stuff 11-Jonah and the Big Fish: Word Search Puzzle
KId’s Stuff 12-Philippian Jailer
Kid’s Stuff 12-Philippian Jailer with Psalms: Fill in the Blanks

Kid’s Stuff 13-Naaman
Kid’s Stuff 13-Naaman: Fill in the Scriptures
Kid’s Stuff 13-Naaman: Word Jumble
Kid’s Stuff 14-Little Tongue-Great Fire
Kid’s Stuff 14-Little Tongue-Great Fire: Word Search Puzzle

Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel and the Lion’s Den
Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel: 3 Lions in the Den: Color 1
Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel Praying: Color 2
Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel Standing with 3 Lions: Color 3
Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel: Giant Word Search Puzzle
Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel: His Name Written in Hebrew
Kid’s Stuff 15-Daniel: Mystery Scripture

Kid’s Stuff 16-Creation-Genesis 1 
Kid’s Stuff 16-Creation-Genesis 1: Color 1
Kid’s Stuff 16-Creation-Genesis 1: Color 2
Kid’s Stuff 16-Creation-Genesis 1: Giant Word Search

Kid’s Stuff 16-Creation-Genesis 1: Scripture Scramble

If you would like to obtain outstanding teaching resources for children’s ministry, I heartily recommend Pastor Billy Burns. He is an apostle among children’s pastors. Please go to his website. You will find an abundance of the best, Spirit filled teaching materials. (http://www.billyburnsministries.com/)