Mike Wilkins Ministries

1 PETER 4:12 ESV
12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it
comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were
happening to you.

Don’t be surprised when your faith is tested! And don’t be
afraid! Jesus — who promised to never forsake you — is still
there to help you.

The test of faith is the devil trying to steal your faith. The
devil wants you to believe something other than God’s Word.

MARK 4:15 ESV
15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is
sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away
the word that is sown in them.

The devil wants to steal God’s Word out of your life, to stop
your faith. So you have to hang on to your faith! You have to
say “NO!” to the devil!

Our enemy could never steal faith in God’s Word away from us
unless at some point it seems like God’s Word is wrong. Or that
God has forgotten us and forsaken us. This will happen to you
sometime! When it does, trust God and His faithfulness more
than you trust your present circumstances.

HEBREWS 10:23 ESV
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without
wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

HEBREWS 4:14 NLT
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered
heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we
believe.

No matter what it seems like — Jesus is faithful. He cannot
lie! Our problem is our limited perspective. We don’t know the
future, but God does.

1 PETER 1:7 ESV
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith — more precious
than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire — may be
found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.

Genuine faith is very precious to the Lord. When you overcome
tests you grow spiritually, which causes joy in Heaven, and
should encourage you to rejoice, too.

JAMES 1:2-4 ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of
various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces
steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

LUKE 22:32 ESV
32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And
when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”

ROMANS 2:11 GWN
11 God does not play favorites.

God does not show favoritism. Several other translations say
“there is no partiality with God.”

God does not practice discrimination with people, favoring one
above another. All of us have equal opportunity to receive
God’s help and blessing. God loves everyone, but allows us to
choose whether to seek Him, or not.

Six times the Bible tells us that God does not show partiality
or favoritism.

2 CHRONICLES 19:7 NLT
7 Fear the LORD and judge with integrity, for the LORD our God
does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking
of bribes.”

ACTS 10:34 NLT
34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no
favoritism.

ROMANS 2:11 NLT
11 For God does not show favoritism.

EPHESIANS 6:9 NLT
9 Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Don’t threaten
them; remember, you both have the same Master in heaven, and he
has no favorites.

COLOSSIANS 3:25 NLT
25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the
wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.

1 PETER 1:17 NLT
17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has
no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you
do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time
as “foreigners in the land.”

God does not favor one person over another. Everyone has an
equal opportunity to receive God’s blessing. No one is
excluded. The choice is ours. What God has done for others, He
will also do for you.

ROMANS 1:16 NLT
16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is
the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes — the
Jew first and also the Gentile.

REVELATION 22:17 NLT
17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” Let anyone who hears
this say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone
who desires drink freely from the water of life.

A curious thing about God is that He never seems to defend
Himself! This is important for us to understand as we face the
daily spiritual battle.

Humans usually interpret silence on the part of someone being
accused as guilt. But this is wrong when God is accused.

Jesus never argued with anyone. God gave His Word. You either
believe it or you don’t. God doesn’t beg you to believe in Him,
or try to convince you against your will.

MARK 15:3-5 NKJ
3 And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He
answered nothing.
4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing?
See how many things they testify against You!”
5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.

Although the Gospel of John says Jesus talked some with Pilate,
He did not in any way defend Himself.

Who do you think tells us that God is bad? Who puts those
thoughts in your mind?

REVELATION 12:10 NKJ
10 . . . for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them
before our God day and night, has been cast down.

The Bible reveals satan is the accuser. The devil accuses us
before God, and accuses God to us. We need to learn, like God,
to ignore what the devil says.

Ignoring what the devil says is a way to resist him. When he
brings thoughts of doubt to us, but we don’t act on his lies or
speak them, we are resisting the devil. We cast down whatever
is against God’s Word by not accepting it or speaking it.

It is probably safe to say that satan is either author or
supporter of all thoughts which accuse God of wrong. Because
satan is behind accusations against God, you can see why God
would not stoop to defend Himself against them.

God’s loving actions throughout history, including dying on the
cross for us, speak in God’s defense. He has no need of any
other defense for an honest, searching person open to truth. We
should not blame God for evil and bad things. God is not
guilty!

JOB 40:2,8 NLT
2 “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s
critic, but do you have the answers?”
8 “Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove
you are right?

Throughout the book of Job many negative things were said about
God, questioning His justice. But when God came on the scene He
did not respond to any of the accusations (Job 38-42). God did
not defend Himself nor explain Himself. All God said was
basically, “Who are you?” and “What do you know?”

Instead of responding to the negative accusations, God turned
the focus to whether humans are really qualified to judge God.

Job’s response was to repent and admit he didn’t know what he
had been talking about (Job 42:3,6).

If we are honest, we have to admit there is much we don’t know,
and we are not now fully qualified to judge God. Just because
we don’t understand everything that happens is no reason for us
to condemn God.

Imagine trying to explain something complicated to a one-year-
old child. No matter how smart we may think we are, compared to
God we are no doubt very much like a one-year-old child in our
understanding of many things.

Because God does not defend Himself, and we lack total
understanding, our faith is sometimes tested. Doubts arise in
our minds. But we should never doubt that God is good and just.
He deserves our faith. We may not understand, but that is not
proof that God is guilty.

Why should God defend Himself? He is the judge, and He knows He
is innocent! Also, God knows all the accusations against Him
originate with His enemy, the devil.

In the Bible, God has already revealed the truth about who is
responsible for all the bad things that happen. We need to go
to the Bible for our answers. God has already revealed truth to
us through His written Word, so why should He repeat Himself?

One day God may defend Himself and explain all that He has
done. But it will be at a time when we are able to fully
comprehend. It won’t be because God has to defend Himself, but
rather because He enjoys sharing with His children.

ROMANS 14:17 ESV
17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and
drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.

A kingdom is the domain of a king. It is wherever a king
governs, or is in control. A king can be in control without
being physically present. Wherever his ideas and rules are
governing is part of his domain, or kingdom.

This is the point of Romans 14:17. God’s kingdom is not just a
location where you would live (eat and drink), but it is
everywhere we allow God and His spirit to govern us.

So the Kingdom of God includes everywhere the Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ is acknowledged as King. It is where His
ideas govern and where His rules are obeyed.

1 JOHN 4:8 ESV
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is
love.

God is love, so the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Love.
There can be no selfishness in the Kingdom of Love.

In the Kingdom of Love, everyone delights to help others. Not
by force, for it will be our joy to do everything we can to
benefit everyone else. (Therefore it will be Heaven!) Every
inhabitant will have the same nature as Jesus Christ, a nature
of selfless love for others.

LUKE 17:20-21 NLT
20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of
God come?” Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected
by visible signs.
21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over
there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

So the Kingdom of God is not restricted to a certain place or
time, like Spain or the USA — or even Heaven. The Kingdom of
God is everywhere that God is accepted and acknowledged. The
Kingdom of God is everywhere the nature and ideas of God
govern.

The Kingdom of God means the rule of God, where God’s Word (His
ideas) are followed. Not acting on God’s Word is stepping into
the kingdom of darkness.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:11,14 ESV
11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up,
just as you are doing.
14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the
fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

People accomplish more if someone believes in them and
encourages them.

All of us can grow fainthearted without encouragement.

HEBREWS 3:13 NIV
13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called
Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s
deceitfulness.

HEBREWS 10:24-25 NLT
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love
and good works.
25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people
do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of
his return is drawing near.

PROVERBS 12:25 NLT
25 Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a
person up.

Just one encouraging word can make a big difference in
someone’s life.

So encourage someone today!

PROVERBS 21:19 NLT
19 It is better to live alone in the desert than with a crabby,
complaining wife.

Whether you are a husband, a wife, or a child, no one enjoys
being with a crabby, complaining person. But everyone loves to
be around someone who encourages them.

LUKE 22:67 NASB
67 “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I
tell you, you will not believe;

No one can force anyone to believe anything. Each one of us
chooses whether we will believe something, based on our
evaluation of the evidence presented to us.

Faith and belief may have different English meanings, but in
the New Testament they are different forms of the same Greek
word. Believe is the verb and faith is the noun for the same
word. (Like think and thought are in English.)

JOHN 20:25 NASB
25 The other disciples therefore were saying to him, “We have
seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I shall see in His
hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the
place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not
believe.”

Note that Thomas said, “I WILL NOT believe.”

Many think seeing miracles would cause people to have faith.
But the only ones who believe as a result of seeing miracles
are those who choose to accept the miracle as sufficient
evidence for them to believe. It is still a choice.

JOHN 12:37 NET
37 Although Jesus had performed so many miraculous signs before
them, they still refused to believe in him,

I used to think faith was difficult to pin down with certainty
– something like a feeling or state of being. But now I
understand that once we make the decision to believe, we are in
faith, no matter how we may feel.

At its heart, faith is always a decision. No one can force you
to believe in anything. The choice is yours.

However, we cannot believe or have faith in anything without
evidence. We must have evidence that convinces us before we can
believe something.

The primary evidence God has given us so that we may have faith
in Him is His Word. God is not a liar; He can be trusted.
Whatever God says, always comes to pass.

So if someone says they don’t have much faith, the solution is
for them to see the evidence from God’s Word on that subject,
then choose to accept what God said as true. Then they will
have faith. At that point they may not feel anything, but they
have faith.

The primary action of faith toward God is speaking in agreement
with God’s Word. Jesus said if you had faith you would say. So
we express what we believe by the words we speak. And then we
stand in that position of faith, regardless of feelings or
circumstances.

JAMES 3:2-5 NIV
2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in
what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body
in check.
3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey
us, we can turn the whole animal.
4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and
are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small
rudder wherever the pilot wants to go.
5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes
great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a
small spark.

Your tongue steers your life. Words spoken by your tongue
determine the direction of your life, just like the rudder of a
ship determines the direction a ship will go. Words may not
cause you to arrive at the destination immediately, but they
head you in that direction, and eventually, if you continue in
that direction, you will arrive there.

MARK 11:23 NKJ
23 “For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain,
‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in
his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done,
he will have whatever he says.

Jesus said you will have what you say, if you believe it. But
He never said you will immediately have what you say. He is
telling us that the words we say set the course of our life.

What you say determines what you get in life. It did for the
people of Israel. And the Bible says the things which happened
to them are lessons for us (1 Corinthians 10:11).

ROMANS 10:10 NASB
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Salvation (meaning deliverance) results from what our heart
believes and our mouth says.

The more strongly you believe and express your words, the more
power is behind them propelling you to that destination more
quickly.

But even words you don’t fully believe, but only express in
jest, may still steer your life in that direction. Because the
devil is like a crooked lawyer watching your words, looking for
any legal loophole giving him the right to bring stealing,
killing, and destruction into your life.

Words spoken by your tongue express your beliefs and release
authority in your life. This works for everyone, whether they
realize it or not. The words you speak steer the course of your
life.

Now that you know this truth, act on it. Ask the Lord to help
you always speak the right words to steer your life to victory.

PHILIPPIANS 2:3-4 NKJ
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but
in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than
himself.
4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but
also for the interests of others.

Selfishness, not hate, is the opposite of divine love.

All the problems in the world today are the result of
selfishness. The problems in our governments and with our
economies are all the result of selfishness. The problems in
our families are the result of selfishness.

JAMES 3:16 TEV
16 Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is also
disorder and every kind of evil.

The answer is for each of us to desire the best for others,
even to the point of sacrificing our own benefit to see others
blessed. This describes divine love.

That’s how Jesus lived. His aim was to benefit others, not to
please Himself. Jesus suffered so we would not have to suffer.

This love is a commandment for all Christian believers. But
this commandment is given for our good, not to discourage us or
condemn us. With the command we are also given the nature and
ability to perform the command.

JOHN 13:34 NKJ
34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another;
as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

All who receive Jesus Christ can walk in the same divine love
Jesus did, because they have God’s life in them. This is why
all people MUST be born again, so they can be set free from
sin’s bondage by being cured of selfishness.

ROMANS 5:5 NKJ
5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has
been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given
to us.

(Christians can choose to act selfishly, but when they do, they
are acting against their own nature.)

HEBREWS 13:5 ESV
5 . . . he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Jesus understands. He knows how it feels to be betrayed,
abandoned, hated. Jesus knows what it feels like to hurt.

He lived in a body just like you have. He was just as human as
you are.

HEBREWS 4:15 ESV
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been
tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Some people hurt so badly that they feel it might give them
some relief if others felt what they felt. Probably many people
hurt others in an unconscious attempt to at least have someone
understand the pain they are feeling.

But you are NEVER alone when you are feeling hurt. Jesus
promised He would NEVER leave you or forsake you. He is there
with you, and He understands. He is not there to condemn you,
but to help you as much as you will allow Him to help you.

Too often when people are hurt they mistakenly blame God
instead of realizing He did not cause their pain but is there
to help them and heal their hurt. Just like a good parent is
there to comfort and take care of their child, so God is with
us.

Some might say, “If God really is with me, then why did this
bad thing happen to me in the first place?” or “If God is with
me, then why does He not just automatically fix everything and
make every bad thing go away?”

We may not know all the answers to those questions, but we know
there are answers. And we know that God loves us more than we
can even understand because He proved it at Calvary on the
cross.

So you can trust God. He loves you. He is with you now, and He
will be with you tomorrow.