Encouraging Words from Pastor Cheryl Y. Dozier
Dearest Beloved Brothers and Sisters,
Some of you may be feeble, weak, or sick in mind, body, soul, spirit and heart. You may know of someone else who is suffering these maladies. Here is what God has given me to tell you this month: The Word of God in Romans 10:9, promises us that if we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, then we are saved. No one knows what others believe. We only observe what they do and say, and we conclude whether they believe or not. It is not for us to know. Of course we want all to be saved, because that is the desire of our heavenly Father. But salvation is an individual journey. Do YOU believe what you confess? I mean, REALLY BELIEVE??? Only you can answer that question. It is time to be honest,
earnest, and real with yourself and with God. It is time to work out your salvation. It is time to pray to God for faith if you do not have it. It is urgently important to believe in your heart. Everything depends on it. What you believe in your heart determines what you believe will happen today, tonight and tomorrow. Your faith determines, not only whether you have eternal life. It determines how you face the day, interact with others, and even how you sleep. Your faith determines how you look towards the day and its affairs and the night with its activities. Faith determines what you do and think when
you are alone and with others. Faith determines how you respond to the good, the bad, the ugly, and the sad. Faith determines how you treat and think about God, yourself, and others. Hebrews 11:1 provides an operational definition of faith. “It is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” Therefore, we know what we see requires no faith and what we do not see requires faith. When we wake from sleep, we hope to make it through the rest of the day. As we face trials of the day, we hope to succeed. When we finish whatever the day brought, we move to the next event. Finally, as we return to sleep, we realize we made it through the day, winning some and maybe not winning all the day’s battles, to our satisfaction. However, as we lay down to sleep, we hope for safety through the night and for waking again tomorrow. But that is the substance of our hope. What is the evidence? To begin to answer this question, be mindful that we are talking about the evidence of things we don’t see as a measure of our faith. When we begin to lay our burdens down at Jesus’ feet, we are operating in faith. When we lay down sin, temptation, greed, pride, hate, shame, fear, guilt, and malice, and cast these burdens upon Christ (whose burdens are light), we experience the freedom to live in this world, in love, peace, harmony, hope, and contentment. These changes occur in our secret, unobservable parts, such as in our hearts, minds, and souls. Your peace of mind is the evidence that you have cast
your burden on God in faith and hope. When you have peace in this world and have peace with God, you are not bearing these evil burdens. Jesus is bearing them for you. The peace you experience, even without any real changes in your situation, is the evidence of your faith. The conditions of our personal situations and those of the world may not change. However, the way we think and respond to them changes. When we begin to cast every burden on Jesus, we are no longer bearing the burden. If Jesus is bearing it, He does not need us to bear it. You will overcome whatever and whoever is
involved in your fear, anger, sadness, unforgiveness, or malicious thoughts, when you truly and humbly give them to Jesus. He works out all things to the good of those wholove Him and are called to His purpose (faith). Whatever you are going through, if you cast it upon Jesus, it is no longer your burden. I encourage you to try this for the next thirty days. If the Lord so moves you, please share your feedback through the contact email above or make a personal testimony in our services as shown above.
May God bless you and keep you!
805-309-0111 Conference ID is 529647
