Tricia McNair: Noble Life Ministries

Galatians 6:9 "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. " S t. Augustine said, " God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." Each of us have or will go through tough times and we will need to know that God cares and loves us even during the difficult times. We need to know this so we are able to persevere and hold on.  If you hold on to God, his hands are strong enough to hold you. It is going to be alright.  I know the world can be hard, cold, an awful place at times,  and there is indeed some very evil demented people out there, but don't lose your faith or your hope. The only way I have found that I was able to persevere through the chaos of sickness, and various other trials in my life was to know in my heart that God loved me as though I was the only one on earth.  When life hits us with unexpected events (such as Cancer, financial debts, death, etc) it seems as though everything is tu...

"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. " Isaiah 43:2 As I write this I know so many people who have gone through great difficulties over the last few months. Two weeks ago, I had a very severe reaction to the medication the doctor gave me and my body went into shock. I can say as David said, The ropes of death entangled me and the floods of destruction swept over me....But in my distress I cried out to the LORD; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary!" During difficult situations you may feel as though you cannot breath. You may feel as though you are drowning in debt, disappointment and heartbreak. But, God states through the author of the text Isaiah, a key word, "when". Not if, but when, meaning we will all at some point in our life face difficul...

Proverbs 8:5"You who don't direct your lives, understand caution; as for you, you fools, get some common sense!"    I was recently in Texas visiting my family and my sister Rachel made a profound statement. She said, "People commit unholy acts,  but expect holy results."  I said, "Wow, you are correct." You know you have to have a warped mind to think that you can commit unholy acts, and then get holy results.  It is not common sense for a person to continue committing unholy or ungodly acts but expecting somehow that God will bless them with Holy results.  Actually a wise person fears and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and overconfident. Foolishness appeals to the one who lacks common sense, but a person of discernment continues to commit wise and godly acts. There are lots of foolish people in the world and I hope and pray that you have learned NOT to be one of them.  Proverbs is the book of wisdom and it continually tells us ...

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".   What is Faith? The C omplete Jewish Bible (CJB) reads the true meaning of this verse better.   “ Trusting is being confident of what we hope for, convinced about things we do no see.” This definition emphasizes personal trust in Christ, not just belief in facts about Christ. Because saving faith in Scripture involves this personal trust, the word “trust” is a better word to use in contemporary culture than the word “faith” or “belief.” The reason is that we can “believe” something to be true with no personal commitment or dependence involved in it. I can believe that Albany is the capital of New York, or that 7 times 6 is 42, but have no personal commitment or dependence on anyone when I simply believe those facts.  The word "faith"  is sometimes used today to refer to an almost irrational commitment to something in spite of strong evidence to the co...

Healing the sick - photo from the Vatican Not all Christians have the gift of healing, but all Christians can pray for their friends and family to be healed.  Jesus used various methods to heal the sick.  But,  the most common method  used by Jesus was the laying on of hands.  Jesus believed in touching people to comfort and healed them. When crowds came bringing people “with various diseases “ he laid his hands on every one of them” and healed them” Luke 4:40.  Other passages specifically describe Jesus placing his hands on people to heal them (Matthew 8:3); More significant is the fact that people who came to Jesus for healing would come specifically asking him to lay his hands on a sick person: Matthew 9:18 Mark 5:23. So what happens when Jesus touch people that cause them to be healed? The power of the Holy Spirit was conveyed through Jesus’ physical touch, and came forth and healed people.    The power of the Hol...

  " But unto every one of us is given grace a ccording to the measure of the gift of Christ" Ephesians 4:5 Christ's gift to us are many, and every one of us have been given gifts to help one another.  You are blessed to be a blessing!  Paul teaches  us that we indeed are all one body, and that all good gifts proceed from Christ alone, who reigns in heaven having mightily conquered all his enemies , from where He graciously gave gifts to his Church. Therefore,  every man ought to be content with the measure that God has given him.  In Ephesians chapter 4; we discussed the 5 gifts (apostle, prophets, teachers, pastors and evangelists) that are considered to be not titles, but offices held in the church to equip the believers.   1) Apostle's office was to plant churches throughout all the world.  2) The Prophet's office was one of the highest who were men of marvelous wisdom, and they would foretell things to come.  ...

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift."  On Sunday, we took a simple spiritual gift test to see what gifts have been given to us. A "Spiritual Gift" is a special divine empowerment bestowed on each believer   by the Holy Spirit to accomplish a given ministry God's way .  We will see the church grow as each member does his/her part according to the Holy Spirit's work,  grace and discernment given to each of us.  This means it is not just the pastoral staff that have gifts or is responsible for caring for God's people. We all are responsible for and to each other.  If you are a follower of Christ, then you have been gifted by God to serve the body of Christ, the church. For the church to be effective, each member of the body must heed the "one another command" of God to function as a body. The Greek word for "one another" is "allelon" which denotes a reciproca...

This past Sunday we began with Lesson One on Spiritual Gifts and it was quite interesting.  We will be studying this topic for 8 weeks.   We began by reading I Peter 4: 10 - 12; Corinthians 12; Romans 12; and Ephesians 4 There are different kinds of gifts,  but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. (1 Cor. 12:4-5)  Each of us has gifts and we should use whatever gift God has given us to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. (1 Pet. 4:10) Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we have different gifts, according to the grace given us. (Romans 12:4-6a). Although opinions differ on the actual number of spiritual gifts, God's Word clearly indicates a variety of gifts. Romans 12   : exhortation;  giving;  leadership;  mercy;  prophecy and  service  1Corinthians ...

Proverbs 14:16-17 (the book of Wisdom in the Bible) states, " A wise person fears and turns away from evil, but a fool is reckless and overconfident. He who is quick-tempered does stupid things, and one who does vile things is hated."  To be reckless in our relationship with each other is foolish.  Unfortunately,  this happens a lot in families. Someone is quick with their tempered,  and does stupid things, even hurt the other person and they expect people to "put up" with it.  Each time you get angry and do vile things you are not only hurting yourself, but you are hurting those who love you.  There are times when your family member or friend is just trying to tell you how they see things.  Most likely this is because they care for you.    It is wise to think about what they are saying instead of reacting foolishly to the situation. We assume that our friends and family will always be there, no matter how badly we behave. So we trea...

Around 58 A.D, from the city of Corinth like a skilled lawyer Paul wrote the letter to the Romans. He established the basic concept that all human beings are violators of God's holy law, Paul wrote how we battle between following God's law and our fleshy desires. He offered a solution: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.   He wrote in Romans 6:6,"we know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin." And then in Romans 6:12-13, he writes, " Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give into sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God."  He tells us to battle for our life, do not let sin rule over us. Do not be a slave to sin and the weakness of your hu...

As the 2012 year kicks off many of you have already made your resolutions, promises or declarations.  I also declared this year as a year full of wisdom and God's amazing favor! However,  I know that my personal self-talk and how I thought about situations in 2011 will need to change in 2012 in order for me to have this kind of year. I have to believe that even though my life feels very ordinary and "run of the mill".  I can experience God's amazing favor on my life.  I just need to be committed to seeing things His way and not mine. Favor comes through God's love for us, but amazing favor comes through obedience and commitment to Him.   Psalm 37:5 states, "Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you". If we commit everything to him we will have less worry, stress, anxiety and pain in 2012.  Psalm 37 go on to say, " The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stum...