Faith is the hope of things unseen. Blessed are those who do not see but believe! Without faith it is impossible to please GOD.
All scriptures is written for our learning. We need to take heed that we do not partake in unbelief and depart from our living God.
Unbelief is our willing separation from God without Jesus Christ.
We worship a living God. In Him we live and breathe. He is the living God who offers salvation through His mercy and grace in Jesus. We choose.
How do we know the Bible is true? The Jewish people are the living proof that the word is true. The Old Testament told them that they would be scattered into every nation and they were. But years later they would also be gathered back into their homeland and they were. It was foretold and all came true. The Bible is the divinely inspired word of God. It transcends time and space. Everything is in God’s perfect timing.
James 1:17 (ESV) "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."
All good gifts come from God.
James urges us not to be deceived about where our blessings come from and why (James 1:16). When life is going well, we can deceive ourselves, just as I've often done, by thinking we are the source of our achievements. When life disappoints or defeats us, we can also be deceived by Satan, "the father of lies" (John 8:44), who attempts to convince us God is withholding good things from us even though we're following Him. To overcome deception, James pointed his readers to the goodness of God.
Scripture defines God's goodness in two ways: His character and His actions. The writer of Psalm 119:68 told God, "You are good and do good" (emphasis added). Goodness is God's inherent nature. Unlike flawed humans, He is the highest good. In fact, Jesus said, "No one is good except God alone" (Mark 10:18b).
Because God is good, His actions are also good. James 1:17 could also be translated, "Every act of giving good and every perfect gift is from above," emphasizing the action of giving good things because God is the source of all goodness. Every good and perfect thing that has ever come into our lives is a gift from our gracious heavenly Father.
When we choose to rely on God in adversity, He produces steadfastness in our walk of faith and generously gives us wisdom and faith to endure with hope (James 1:2-5).
Because God is the giver of every good and perfect gift, He gave us the greatest gift: the gift of salvation. James 1:18 tells us it is because of God's goodness ("of his own will") that He gave us new birth ("brought us forth") through our faith in Jesus.
Because of His kindness, God sovereignly chose to give us spiritual redemption "by the word of truth," which is the gospel of Christ (James 1:18). This phrase is echoed elsewhere in the New Testament to refer to the gospel (Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5), reminding us that anything good in us comes from God's undeserved goodness toward us in Christ, changing us from the inside out. First5
Here’s the deal: Where there is a place to be seen, to be heard, to be valued, where sanctuary and presence are real, is the soil that makes restoration and healing grow.
Restoration happens when we allow ourselves to feel, fully and wholly without a need to defend, justify or explain.
Restoration happens when we allow ourselves to receive love, compassion and kindness without suspicion.
Restoration happens when we find life without being afraid.
Restoration happens when we are free to embrace an extraordinary core of strength and courage that resides inside of us… and without even realizing it, let it spill to those around us. Sabbath Moments
Hosea 1:10–11
10 “Yet the number of the children of Israel
Shall be as the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered.
And it shall come to pass
In the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’
There it shall be said to them,
‘You are sons of the living God.’
11 Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel
Shall be gathered together,
And appoint for themselves one head;
And they shall come up out of the land,
For great will be the day of Jezreel!
The New King James Version
Following the rejection of Israel (implied by the naming of Lo-Ammi), Yahweh invokes the language of the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 22:17) to express His plan for the future restoration of His people. The Hebrew phrase used here, bene el-chay, meaning “sons of the living God,” represents Israel as Yahweh’s covenant community. This phrasing recalls the old testament description of Yahweh’s heavenly assembly as “sons of God” bene elohim in Hebrew. Yahweh’s heavenly assembly is also described as a divine council (adath el) in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew text of the exodus narrative transfers the image of God’s assembly from heaven to history by referring to the Israelites as the assembly of Yahweh and the assembly of the sons of Israel. The reference here in Hosea 1:10 to the bene el-chay similarly represents Israel as God’s chosen community. Will be gathered together foreshadows future reunification of the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Faithlife Study Bible
The Lord would not reject His people forever. God would fulfill His promise to Abraham and make the Israelites as numerous as the sand of the sea. One head refers to the messianic king to come. Jezreel means “God Plants,” picturing God as sowing seed that would germinate and grow abundantly. The NKJV Study Bible
Very precious promises are here given concerning the Israel of God, and they may be of use to us now. Some think that these promises will not have accomplishment in full, till the general conversion of the Jews in the latter days. Also this promise is applied to the gospel, and the bringing in both the Jews and Gentiles to it, by St. Paul, Ro 9:25, 26, and by St. Peter, 1Pe 2:10. To believe in Christ, is to have him for our Head, and willingly to commit ourselves to his guidance and government. And let us pray for the coming of the glorious day, when there shall be one Lord through all the earth. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Romans 9:25–27
As He says also in Hosea:
“I will call them My people, who were not My people,
And her beloved, who was not beloved.”
“And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them,
‘You are not My people,’
There they shall be called sons of the living God.”…
Ezekiel 37:15–28
Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it:
‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’
Then take another stick and write on it,
‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’…
Genesis 22:17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.
Isaiah 11:11–13
It shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD shall set His hand again the second time
To recover the remnant of His people who are left,
From Assyria and Egypt,
From Pathros and Cush,
From Elam and Shinar,
From Hamath and the islands of the sea.
He will set up a banner for the nations,
And will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
And gather together the dispersed of Judah
From the four corners of the earth…
Jeremiah 33:22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ ”
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