2 Chronicles 33:12-13

But when he (Manasseh) was in distress, he sought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. When he prayed to Him, He was moved by his entreaty and heard his pleading, and brought him back to Jerusalem to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew the Lord is God.

Manasseh sinned greatly against God, but God still heard his cry for help. God doesn’t leave us, but we leave God through sin. God doesn’t stop loving us when we sin, but He wants us to repent and return to following Him. When we know God as our savior, we are to be on guard against the enticements to sin.  

Romans 2:21

Well then, you who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal (in ways that are discrete, but just as sinful)?

Christians are supposed to be an example of the faith. If we go to Church on Sunday and do not follow the teachings after we walk out the door, no one will want to follow our example. If we do not adjust our hearts to believe in the Word, our actions will not line up. Sin is no friend to the Christian, and we should turn away from every opportunity to sin.  

Hebrews 11:1

Now Faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed) and the evidence of things not seen (the conviction of their reality-faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by physical senses).

Faith treats things that are hoped for like they are reality. Faith believes that God’s promises are true and that what cannot be seen will materialize. Faith trusts in God when the devil says it isn’t going to happen. Faith knows that God can provide for all our needs and is waiting for us to believe.  

Hebrews 11:5

By faith (that pleased God) Enoch was caught up and taken to heaven so that he would not have a glimpse of death; And he was not found because God had taken him; for even before he was taken (to heaven), he received the testimony (still on record) that he had walked with God and pleased Him.  

Enoch had a close relationship with God, and Enoch’s faith pleased God. The relationship was so close that the Bible says Enoch walked with God. What does it take to get the Enoch, Noah, Abraham kind of faith? Faith is what pleases God. They were convinced that God had the answer and solved all the tests and trials. 

1 Peter 1:13

So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober (in spirit-steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert), fix your hope completely on the grace (of God) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  

We are to prepare our minds to accomplish whatever God may need us to do. Being prepared and prayed up keeps our hearts active and close to God. It makes it easier to hear from God and get out of the ditches of life. The tests of life don’t seem like mountains when we maintain our focus.  

1 John 2:5

But whoever habitually keeps His word and obeys His precepts (and treasures His message in its entirety), in him the Love of God has truly been perfected (it is completed and has reached maturity). By this we know (for certain) we are in Him:

We will develop our spiritual strength if we treasure His word and keep it close to our hearts. Just as a child wishes to grow to physical maturity, we are to mature and grow as Christians in our faith. Our lives, whether we succeed or fail, depend on it. We are the representatives of heaven on earth, and our lives are to reflect Jesus. 

2 John 1:9

Anyone who runs on ahead and does not remain in the doctrine of Christ (that is, one who is not content with what He taught), does not have God; but the one who continues to remain in the teaching (of Christ does have God), he has both the Father and the Son.

The teachings of Jesus are powerful and life-sustaining. They are the door to God and salvation in Jesus Christ. When we focus on the Bible and view it as the sustaining force for our lives, we will have success. We are to keep in step with Jesus and God and not deviate from His Word.

Jude 1:18-19

They used to say to you, “in the last days there will be scoffers, following after their own ungodly passions.” These are the ones who are (agitators) causing division-worldly minded (secular, unspiritual, carnal, merely sensual-unsaved) devoid of the Spirit.

It’s hard to watch the world around us fall into moral and spiritual decay and blindness. The choice of others to follow sin instead of spiritual freedom can seem disheartening. We cannot give up or back down from our Faith. We are to occupy and be light in the darkness until Jesus returns. Our focus needs to be more on Him than the fallen world around us.  

Hosea 4:6

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (of My law, where I reveal My will). Because you (the priestly nation) have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

The pursuit of knowledge of God and His will for our lives leads to happiness. When we reject God and knowledge, we limit our ability to make wise and fulfilling choices. We make decisions that lead to temporary satisfaction based on the hope of finding meaning. A life without Jesus and the Holy Spirit is a life with an unsatisfied void.  

1 John 2:10-11

The one who loves and unselfishly seeks the best for his (believing) brothers lives in the Light, and in him there is no occasion for stumbling or offense (he does not hurt the cause of Christ or lead others to sin). But the one who habitually hates (works against) his brother (in Christ) is in (spiritual) darkness and is walking in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because of the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Our bodies contain the mind, will, and emotions and are separate from our spirit. As Christians, this is basic, but maybe not so. When we let our Minds, Wills, and Emotions rule instead of our spirit and the Holy Spirit, we will sin. Emotions are not a sure guide to success when it comes to decision-making because feelings change. Follow the light of the Bible and reject the darkness of sin.