If you don’t understand how your vehicle works, why do you still drive it?
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
Is there “substance,” that which is substantial in our faith in God?
The Greek word from which “substance” is derived is hupostasis.
Definition:
hoop-os’-tas-is
From a compound of G5259 and G2476; a setting under (support), that is, (figuratively) concretely essence, or abstractly assurance (objectively or subjectively): – confidence, confident, person, substance.
In the times, the seasons of testings, of attack, we are undergirded, supported by the substantial presence, the supporting “substance” of this faith God has given us (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Sister Karen Cochran shared this on this topic of faith:
“See John 20: 24-29 . The other disciples were telling Thomas they had seen the Lord but Thomas doubted and needed proof. He wanted to see Jesus’ hands, the print of the nails, and put his finger into the print of the nails and touch the Savior’s side or he would not believe it was Jesus. Jesus showed him his nail scared hands and allowed Thomas to reach his finger into His hand and to touch His side. Thomas then believed and his faith was strengthened. He shouted ‘my Lord, my God.’ Jesus saith unto him, ‘Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed.’ 2 Corinthians 5:7 says: ‘We walk by faith and not by sight.'”
Fret Not
Ever see where the wicked plot against the just as they carefully craft questions in order to make their opponent, the righteous, to stumble? Then the wicked rejoice when the righteous can’t answer the question?
They are basically saying to the people of God – “If you can’t understand it, your faith is built on a lie and is futile.”
Is that true? No.
Once again … If you don’t understand how your vehicle works, why do you still drive it?
To say one must understand something completely to be able to enjoy, to experience it, would mean we’d have to cut out far more than half the things we use in our lives…. toaster, refrigerator, washer and dryer, all vehicles, TV, cell phones, computers, etc. Yet this logic is used by detractors, the unrepentant who don’t yet wish to get honest and repent, in a vain attempt to disprove God. Well following this to its logical conclusion means we would have to believe that toasters and washing machines and automobiles, etc., do not exist, all because we don’t understand them.
We all have faith that when we insert and turn the key in our vehicle, it’s going to start and it’s going to carry us to the location we desire, right? Right. And for the born again believer, he knows intrinsically, he is possessed with the substance of the faith of God, knowing that as he serves God by the “substance,” the substantial reality of the faith in his heart, that faith, that relationship is going to carry him into eternity with Christ and the Father.
“For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Romans 12:3
Answering questions with questions is something Christ did.
A good question for this type detractor would be something like: “So, basically, if you will follow your own logic to its conclusion, you will no longer drive your vehicle, right? After all, you do not understand the way your vehicles operates, so why do you still drive it? You drive it because it works right? Yes. You are claiming that people shouldn’t believe in God due to not fully understanding everything about Him. Yet you don’t understand all about your vehicle, and you still drive it, right?”
You don’t have to understand something, the how, to know that something works!
The fact is, we are those who are created in God’s image (Genesis 1:26). We do not understand a mere fraction of what is going on in our own masterfully made bodies, much less the world and universe. Right? Right. Should that stop us from functioning in this world? No. Who ever came up with this idea that you have to understand something fully to enjoy or experience it? Such is a misnomer. If that were the case, that would mean we would do very little.
What we DO know, as Jesus’ regenerated saints, is that we are His and that walking with Him brings blessings untold (Psalms 68:19; 103:2; Matthew 6:33, etc.). We understand that God blesses all who put Him first. Jesus specifically promised He would.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
God’s blessings, His “benefits” are given exclusively to those who are His and they are vast, they are many.
“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:” Psalms 103:2
God loads His children with His “benefits.”
“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” Psalms 68:19
You may wish to include in your witnessing arsenal this illustration of a car, key, and how it all operates and how we don’t understand the whole process and yet we still drive our vehicles because it works to transport us. In the same way, though we “see through a glass, darkly” in this life, that is, we do not yet see the full reality for what it is, nevertheless we have “the evidence of things not seen” with the human eye and will one day see all “when that which is perfect is come” (Hebrews 11:1; 2 Corinthians 13:10, 12).
Also, how about the wind. Can we see the wind? No. Do we know, are we certain it exists? Yes.
When you, as a child of God, are being assailed by questions about the universe, the natural things of creation, if you’re like most of us, you are not always going to have the scientific answer. Yet, you have the “substance” that is your faith – “the faith of the Son of God” – that is in you (Galatians 2:20). And this “faith” that possessed you is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
A review of our main verse:
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
This “substance” of faith cannot be understood by those who do not have it, those who seek to trip you up, those who have not experienced it. Yet every true born again saint knows that he knows, in his innermost man, that God is real, that he is God’s child, that he is saved, and that nothing could be more dear nor more important.
Instead of just letting people fire questions at you, fire the Word of God at them by preaching it.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16-17
When God’s Word falls upon a receptive, and obedient ear, heart, that person can repent and believe upon Christ unto salvation. The Word of God we plant in the hearts of others is that seed of faith by which we are born again (Romans 1:16; James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23).
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17
We are passing through this earth and until we are with Christ and the Father, we look for and see the things in His Word. We cannot see these things with our natural eyes, in the natural, and yet we behold them by faith via the Word. Example: The mansions Jesus is preparing for us (John 14:1-6), and our coming abode, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).
“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
“Death is not to be feared, it ushers us into eternity with God. Life with God eternally is what everyone of us should long for. In everything you do, have eternity in mind. If there is anything in your life that is drawing you away from God, you should realize that it is not worth it.” Unknown
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6
Your prayer should be as was the prayer of Christ’s original apostles …
“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.” Luke 17:5-6
YOUR PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of my LORD Jesus. Please purify this heart by faith and increase my faith and trust in You dear LORD. With Your psalmist I ask “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” In Jesus’ name, amen.
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Abiding
The Perpetual Washing of the Blood of Jesus and the Water of the Word [podcast]

HERE’S WHAT BEING FULFILLED, WHAT’S COMING TO PASS RIGHT NOW
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:10-14
In the midst of the prophesied great apostasy we are in, Christ’s Remnant are…
- Waxing hotter in their love for God v12
- Enduring to the end v13
- Preaching Christ’s kingdom Gospel to the lost v14
“God is love” and God is “Holy, holy, holy.” (1 John 4:8, 16; Isaiah 6:3; Revelation 4:8)
He loves us. Fact.
He is holy. Fact.
Do we love Him?
Such will determine our eternal destination.
“And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Mark 12:33
Choosing to love God with….
“all the heart”
“all the understanding”
“all the soul”
“all they strength”
“We are commanded to love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind (Mat 22:37). That means a total surrender of all that one holds dear, including yourself. It is a command from the LORD to love God with every fiber of our being and to have Him as our first love. This means a wholehearted devotion to Him, and Him alone. Let your heart be the dwelling place for the Lord.” Karen Cochran
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.” Ephesians 5:25-27
“IF”
“But IF we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”1 John 1:7
“IF we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
“Continually”
“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11
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Abiding
America’s Path to Destruction According to Holy Scripture [podcast]

Sadly, so many today, who claim to be Christians, spend more time, money, and energy seeking to save the sinking ship called America (a corporation under which they are slaves) than they do obeying Christ’s Great Commission command to teach His Word and preach the Gospel to the lost (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20). They have chosen America over the LORD (Matthew 6:24; 12:30). So very man “church” members and yet Jesus Christ is not their “first love.” (Revelation 2:4-5) Patriotism is their idol, vainly believing they can vote away divine judgment. Most of their time, money, and energy is wasted on the futility of the temporal. Nothing will save America – no campaign, political party, voting block, or otherwise. God is judging America. It’s over as we once knew it.
God judges nations and has a timing, a frame of time, an “instant” including a beginning and ending point, where He judges nations (Jeremiah 18:7). And America is under His judgment, and it going to get much worse (Jeremiah 18).
America is under Divine Judgment
“This is exactly where we are! Things are about to wax worse and worse in this country! Jesus warned us a greater tribulation is coming (Mat 24:21). This world is becoming darker and darker. It will be a challenge to all who put their faith in Christ. Will our faith stand in the midst of severe persecution (1 Peter 1:6-9)? God will try it in the fire, subjecting it to intense heat. The ultimate goal is to purge out all unbelief and impurities. The genuineness of our faith can only be proved in the fire. During hard times of tribulations the lukewarm will drift away, but genuine faith will endure! And the reward will be final salvation (Mat 24:13).” Karen Cochran
The ultimate reason America is being destroyed is not, as some imagine, due to “bad leadership.” No. America is being destroy from within and without due to the rebellion of its people – the sin against God and refusal to repent. Read Jeremiah 18 and Isaiah 1.
Destruction Comes when leaders are allowed to pervert justice!
“The heads (leaders) thereof judge for reward (take bribes), and the priests (religious leaders) thereof teach for hire, and the prophets (religious leaders) thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us. 12 Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest.” Micah 3:11-12
Government Servants and Bribes
“The king by judgment establisheth the land: but he that receiveth gifts (bribes) overthroweth it.” Proverbs 29:4
Inflation Revelation 6
“And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” Revelation 6:6
Excessive Inflation is judgment.
“They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.” Ezekiel 7:19
Timeline of Impending Doom
Someone is saying “But brother I’ve been listening to dreams and prophecies people are getting about our nation.”
Our hearts can deceive us (Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 17:9). We can only be fully “sure” by reading, studying, and knowing the “MORE SURE WORD of prophecy” which is the Holy Scriptures (2 Peter 1:19-21).
“God’s judgment is upon America. We have become Sodom’s sister (Ezekiel 16:46). It’s pride that has rooted itself in the hearts of the American people. And what brings destruction upon nations? Pride! Those who love Him will be looking for a new heaven and a new earth. This world is not our home.
This podcast nailed it biblically! America is defiled, clear to the core, with shocking wickedness. Are we ‘MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH’ ? (Revelation 17:5)? Is the United States the entity ‘having a golden cup’, luring people in by saying “We are the greatest country on earth’ ? (Revelation 17:4) Although we may look appealing because we are supposedly a wealthy country, we are full of abominations, rebellion, sin, pride and full of blasphemy against a holy and righteous God!
We are experiencing His wrath. A nation cannot parade around saying it is ok to change your sex, cut off parts of little children, kill babies up to birth, kill their very own family members, teach pornography to children, mock God, reject the gospel and not expect judgment to fall!” Karen Cochran
THE DISCIPLE OF JESUS SHOULD VIEW HISTORY, INCLUDING WHERE A NATION STANDS THIS DAY, BY “THE MORE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY” WHICH IS THE HOLY SCRIPTURES (Isaiah 46:9-10; 57:15; Romans 15:4; 2 Peter 1:19-21).
Looking at the USA through the lens of Scripture is what is important. We have murdered over 60 million precious innocent babies and called it “choice” but God calls it murder and commands us “Thou not kill.” (Exodus 20:13). The US is over and has been for a long time, as we once knew it. Military men: This isn’t the same USA you and I both signed up to serve. This isn’t the same USA we were born and raised in.
This list of sins in the above passage begins with these 3:
PFA = Pride, Fulness of Bread, and Abundance of idleness.
The Sins of Sodom:
Sins Jerusalem cited for in Ezekiel 16:49-51:
- Pride (arrogance),
- Fulness of Bread (gluttony, hoarding),
- Abundance of Idleness (idle, lazy),
- did not help those in need due to preoccupation with self-worship (not generous in spreading God’s wealth to His people and work)
- haughty
- committed abomination (rampant fornication – just as in the days leading up to the Noahic flood. See Genesis 6)
In the bulleted sins listed above from this revealing Ezekiel 16 passage, did you notice the progression?
Though it culminated in sodomy, yet not one sex sin is even specifically mentioned in this list of Sodom’s sins in Ezekiel 16. Does this not align perfectly with the judgment we see in Romans 1, how “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God” and were unthankful, further enriching themselves while they ignored others?
“Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful (they were ungrateful); but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21
A fresh reading of Romans 1 reveals the root sins that preceded the sexual sins which immediately go before divine judgment. See Romans 1:18-32.
The sins that darken the hearts of those who once “knew God” and lead to the ultimate abomination of sodomy/homosexuality are pride, gluttony, idleness, and refusing to be generous givers to believers in need, etc.
Let’s Look Again at the Root, the Gateway Sins of the People of Sodom and Gomorrah:
PFA listed in Ezekiel 16:49-51:
- Pride (arrogance),
- Fulness of Bread (gluttony),
- Abundance of Idleness (idle, lazy),
- Like the fake religionists priest and Levite of Jesus’ Good Samaritan teaching, they did not help those in need due to preoccupation with self-worship (not generous in spreading God’s wealth to His people and work)
“The deceptions are growing stronger and becoming greater in number, leading us to the ultimate deception which is the antichrist! Beware, that if possible even the elect will be deceived (Mat 24:24). See 1 Corinthians 10:12.
“Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
“America’s root sin is pride. They call us the greatest country on earth. We celebrate gay pride. American’s trust in their pride. We have pushed God out of every part of society, yet still believe in our pride, He is blessing us, because after all, we are the greatest country on earth! We are arrogant and boastful in the power of our own might. Trump has recently built a golden alter to himself and I have seen some pastor’s bowing down. We no longer fear God! God’s judgment is falling, from heaven, upon us! He will spare a remnant just as he always promised in the OT! Faithful believer’s who only bow to Him, seeking His face, keeping themselves unspotted from the world, and remaining pure and clean. Those are His true remnant will be given the fountain of life and never thirst again (Rev 21:6).” Karen Cochran
HERE’S WHAT BEING FULFILLED, WHAT’S COMING TO PASS RIGHT NOW
“And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. 11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. 12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” Matthew 24:10-14
In the midst of the prophesied great apostasy we are in, Christ’s Remnant are…
- Waxing hotter in their love for God v12
- Enduring to the end v13
- Preaching Christ’s kingdom Gospel to the lost v14
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Abiding
Sin is Rooted in the Hearts of Men [podcast]

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
Jesus taught us that man’s sin comes out of his “desperately wicked” heart (Jeremiah 17:9).
“And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.” Mark 7:20-23
Mankind’s core dilemma is sin (Romans 1-3). Jesus Christ came and died to “save his people from their sins,“ to “taketh away the sin of the world,“ and not to merely deal with fallen man on a surface level as on a mental level (Matthew 1:21; John 1:29). God doesn’t band aid broken things, He heals and makes them whole to the root because the root determines the fruit (Matthew 12:33; Luke 4:18, etc.). Christ’s salvation is perfect. Evil is in our hearts and proceeds forth from that wicked heart until Christ regenerates us (Genesis 6:5, 12; Jeremiah 17:9; John 3:3, 7; Titus 3:5-7). This is why the sinner must of divine necessity be born again, must be made completely new “by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5-7). Then and not before then, the born again saint of Christ is made a “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18 And all things are of God” (2 Corinthians 5:17-18).
The Truth about Fallen Mankind – That Includes You!
“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Genesis 6:5
“And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” Genesis 6:12
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah 17:9
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. … O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:18, 24
Is Romans 7 Before or After Paul’s Salvation?
Don’t trust yourself, trust God and deny self! “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered” (Proverbs 26:28).
Only Satan and his children live by the diabolical edict of “be true to yourself.” Knowing how wretched they are of themselves, without Christ, those who are known of God live by “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. 7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
People don’t have a “mental health” problem, they have a SIN problem and sin is what gives way, gives full access to Satan!
“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:” Hebrews 12:14
“The state of continual sanctification, that life of purity and detachment from the world and all it’s lusts, without which detachment and sanctity no man shall see the Lord-shall never enjoy His presence in the world of blessedness. To see God, in the Hebrew phrase, is to enjoy Him; and without holiness of heart and life this is impossible. No soul can be fit for heaven that has not suitable dispositions for the place.” Adam Clark’s commentary on Holiness. Hebrews 12:14
YOUR PRAYER FOR A PURE HEART: Holy Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus, desiring to be pure in heart so that I may see, enjoy, and be with You. Help me please dear LORD. Purify my heart and life of all wicked imaginations and iniquity that defile me in Your holy eyes. Please purify and cleanse me LORD and I know You require me to purify myself and to obey You. In Jesus’ name, please forgive all my sins by Thy precious blood dear LORD Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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