2 Timothy 3:1

But understand this, that in the last days dangerous times (of great stress and trouble) will come (difficult days that will be hard to bear.) For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy and profane.  

God has warned the faithful about what will happen in the end. We don’t have to fear, but we must keep our focus. Jesus needs to be our focus and will support us in times of sin and evil. Jesus will keep our hearts safe and minds clear to the reality of the love of God. Jesus is our strength and will give us courage.  

1 Thessalonians 3:4

For even when we were with you, we warned you plainly in advance that we were going to experience persecution; and so, as you know, it has come to pass.  

Paul endured great persecution and still kept the faith. God was able to work through Paul and bring many to the faith because Paul didn’t give up or doubt. Paul had many experiences that only God could get him through, and because of that, Paul never gave up his faith. God will do the same for us as we keep our faith in Him.

Romans 3:22

The righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe (and trust in Him and acknowledge Him as God’s Son). There is no distinction. 

 When we put our faith in Jesus, we no longer have to be sin conscious. Jesus washed those sins away, and we no longer have to replay those memories. Our belief and salvation through Jesus open the door for our right standing with God. He is allowing us to overcome the world system with salvation and faith.

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world (any longer with its superficial values and customs), but be transformed and progressively change (as you mature spiritually) by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.  

Suppose our lives are not happy, peaceful, and lacking in joy. Check what we are thinking on. There will be days when strife caused by outside forces will try to play in our heads like a record skipping. Unplug the record player and plug it into the word. Put the word before the eyes, concentrate on Jesus, and tell the devil to git. Fight the good fight of faith.  

Deuteronomy 30:20

By loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding closely to Him; for He is your life (your good life, your abundant life, your fulfillment) and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord promised (swore) to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.   

God is faithful to His promises. We strengthen our faith and relationship with God when we listen and obey the word. We know the voice of the good shepherd and respond to His guidance. We are allowing God to replace lack with abundance and sadness with joy. 

Deuteronomy 30:19

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse; therefore, you shall choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants.  

The abundance of life revolves around our choice to love God and follow His ways or not. We choose what path we follow. Circumstances will pressure our resolve, but when we focus on the word, it becomes clear that Jesus overcame the world. Do not quite!

Mark 2:4-5

When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying. When Jesus saw their (active) faith (springing from confidence in Him), He said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.

For our faith to work, we have to have faith in the finished works of Jesus. If our hearts are convinced from our study of the word, we will speak in faith about our circumstances. Our faith is an active faith relying on the word of God. Faith is a mindset that will not allow the distraction of doubt to enter from the enemy.  

Matthew 13:24-25

Jesus gave them another parable (to consider), saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds (resemble wheat) among the wheat, and went away.  

We can consider our minds and thoughts a field, and our goals are to plant good seeds. However, we get busy and distracted by the world, and the stresses of our life and weeds start to appear. We have to remove the weeds and replace them with the word. Dig up the doubts and fears and replace them with faith.  

Matthew 12:35-36

The good man, from his (inner) good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his (inner) evil treasure, brings out evil things. But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. 

If we remind ourselves that our words are creative forces for good or evil and have power, we will be more careful in our speech. If we replace the thoughts with the word and use the authority Jesus gave us, the circumstance would change. We don’t want to provide a more prominent place to the circumstance in our lives than we do to God.

Matthew 9:28-29

When He went into the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe (with a deep, abiding trust) that I am able to do this?” They said, “Yes, Lord.”  Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith (your trust and confidence in My power and My ability to heal) it will be done to you.”

If we receive anything from Jesus, we must have confidence in His power and ability. We cannot doubt but have the deep abiding knowing that what Jesus said in His word is true. When we focus on Jesus and the word, the faith builds, and our answers come.