A good [man] obtains favor from the LORD, But a man of wicked intentions He will condemn.

Proverbs 12:2 (NKJV)

Good Morning!

Happy Friday everyone! I’ve been receiving wonderful testimonies of the favor of God showing up in people’s lives. They amazing stories of small and big examples of God’s favor working in different areas of life. If you would like to share your testimony of favor, please click here.

This weekend, we are leading a tour of Faith Christian School Students and their families around Paris. This is the first time FCS students have been able to take an international academic trip. FCS is a fully accredited, online college-preparatory school for Pre-K-12. At FCS, we partner with families, educational institutions and businesses to provide a whole person education incorporating S.T.E.A.M. curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) into every classroom. While I was in Sofia, Bulgaria the pastor asked me to share the miracle of the school’s creation and how it is impacting students and families. God is doing wonderful things in our school. For more information about FCS and enrolling your future scholar for the 2024-2025 school year, please click here.

In addition to providing a fun and educational tour that enhances their studies and cultural experience, the students and their families will be joining me this Sunday as I preach at Word of Life In Brussels, Belgium. Please pray for our tour as well as the Sunday service. Please pray that God grants us a wide door of utterance, for an outpouring of God’s Spirit, and for miracles, signs, and wonders to accompany the ministry of the Word. Pray for the safety of our tour and that God will show the tour special favor at every place we visit. Thank you for praying for us!

This weekend, we are continuing our Awaken Your Faith series at Faith Christian Center. If you’ve missed any of the messages and testimonies, I encourage you to stream them! You won’t want to miss Sunday’s installment of these series.

This week, we examined the wisdom of Proverbs 11:27. In Proverbs 11:27, it says that the person who earnestly seeks good will find favor. The phrase of earnestly seeking good comes from the Hebrew word that paints the picture of someone rising early to start a task and pursuing that task with discipline and focus. We should pursue what is good with the passion this Hebrew word describes. In Proverbs 12:2, we saw a similar proverb that a good person obtains favor from the Lord. We shared that good person is a person who allows the fruits of the Spirit called goodness and kindness (also translated as gentleness) to operate in their life in an ever increasing way.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)

The person who allows the fruits of goodness and kindness to continually operate through them will obtain favor from God. Living this way is an important step in the upward cycle of favor we have been discussing over the last week. When we meditate on God’s goodness toward us, we’re inspired to be good to others. Kindness flows from goodness.

I love what Rev. Rick Renner says about kindness. He says, “The Greek word for “kindness” is chrestos. This well-known word portrayed helpfulness, warm-heartedness, and a willingness to show goodness from the heart to others — a trait so admirable in the ancient world that it was viewed as a characteristic that everyone should seek to possess. You could say that chrestos pictures a person who is attentive to the needs of others, who is beneficial and helpful to others, or even who is considerate of other people and their needs and demonstrates this kindness in some way. This word acutely describes the attitude Jesus wants to produce in us by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Being a person of goodness and a person who shows kindness to other is the lifestyle that every Believer is called to live. Actions of goodness and kindness cause the love of God to be displayed in a tangible way and open people’s hearts to the Word and plan of God. These actions are also seeds that set you up for a harvest of favor, goodness, and kindness.

Our journey in understanding the favor of God not only causes growth in our lives, it makes a wonderful difference in the lives of others. This journey of growth in God’s favor causes His light to be displayed all around us. As we grow in understanding and application of the favor of God, I know we will see the marvelous results of God’s favor in our lives. Pray this prayer with me today, “Father, thank you for your favor. I believe it surrounds me as a force field. I ask for greater levels of you favor to manifest in my life. Lord, help us grow in understanding of your favor so that we can live in the upward cycle of favor. I ask that you show us how we all can be wise stewards of your favor. Your favor makes the difference in our lives. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

In our podcast devotional today, I interview Kylie Gatewood and Shannon Phillips! Stream today’s podcast and be encouraged knowing that God has wonderful things in store for your life!

Thank you for starting your day with Faith in the Morning. We love you and are praying for you. Have a miraculous day!

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What Am I Listening To? I’m listening to a series called God’s Favor Opens Doors by Jerry Savelle. This link is to part one of the series. It’s from a couple of years ago, but it is still relevant today!

Don’t forget to read through the Book of Matthew with us this month!

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