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    Living by Faith
    Living by Faith
    Living by Faith
    Ebook97 pages1 hour

    Living by Faith

    By Bonnie Ricks

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    About this ebook

    What is it about having total faith in Jesus that is so frightening, and oft-times so unobtainable for so many people? It’s because we – all of us – want to be in control. We are surrounded by “me generation” thinking in our magazines, our newspapers, our movies, our books – everything in our lives has pushed us to focus on being “in control” – and we fight desperately in an effort to hang onto that control, even after we place our faith in Jesus. Oh, we’ll believe in him where our eternity is concerned, but have absolute faith here and now? That’s a different matter!
    So we go along, being “in control” on the surface, but secretly realizing that we are not in control of anything. We think we’re in control of our jobs, and then the company goes belly-up, and we’re jobless. And then all those status symbols – those things we bought with money we didn’t have to impress those people we didn’t like in the first place – are repossessed because we can’t keep up the payments. We think we’re in control of our marriages, and then our spouses leave or die, and we’re all alone. We think we’re in control of our children, and then one gets arrested for possessing drugs or gets pregnant out of wedlock, and we realize we didn’t have control after all. We think we’re in control of our country, and then 19 madmen hijack four airplanes, and 3,000 people die, right in our own front yard – and we realize that no one is safe, anywhere.
    So where do we turn? The only place we can turn to find solace, to find peace, to find confidence in tomorrow is Jesus. When all else has failed us, we realize we should have turned to Him in the first place. But how do we do that? How do we live by faith, not by sight?
    This book will help you learn how to do just that... to live by faith, not by sight – through a careful walk through God’s Word and his promises to us. We recommend that you read and meditate upon one “step” per day, giving yourself time to absorb the lesson contained in each step. So it will take you 30 days to go through all of the steps. Each day, you will take one more simple, yet difficult-to-reach step on the road to living by faith.
    Take each of these steps seriously. Engrave them on your heart and in your mind, and practice each one every day until these supernatural steps become a natural part of your day, every day. If you’ve done all that, when you complete this book, you will be able to live by faith for the rest of your life.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBonnie Ricks
    Release dateNov 20, 2012
    ISBN9781301922543
    Living by Faith
    Author

    Bonnie Ricks

    About the Authors Bonnie and J.R. Ricks are both ordained ministers and Certified Christian Counselors. They have worked in evangelism for 20+ years, currently living and operating their ministry, Dogwood Ministries, Inc., in Blessing, Texas. Their primary ministry is writing daily devotionals that are entitled “Take a Minute” and are distributed all over the world. Bonnie has been writing since she first learned to use a pencil. Her first published work was “Various Things, but Mainly the Golden Train”, a short story which appeared in her college literary magazine, Potpourri. Her first professional published work was a short story – “Bracelets” – published in the Arkansas Times Magazine. More of her work appeared in that publication over the next few years, including “If Your Nose Itches, Someone’s Coming with Holes in His Britches”, “Catfish Guts and Other Wonderful Things” and “How the Side-Hill Gouchers Whomped the Wooly Boogers”, which was awarded the Earnie Deane Tall Tale Award, and which will shortly be the first in a series of children’s ebooks under the overall title of Tales from Lalacalona County. She is also editing a new ebook written by Marvin Walters entitled So You Want to Be a Stunt Person, which will be published shortly. Bonnie graduated from Hendrix College in Conway, AR with a degree in English and Journalism. She has worked as a freelance writer, as well as a writer/producer/director of industrial films and commercials, as well as teaching high school English and Journalism. She produced the first telethon for the March of Dimes in Houston, Texas, winning a regional "Telly" for one of her PSA’s. She has been published in print and has won regional writing awards for both non-fiction and fiction. She’s been a serious Bible student for over 30 years, and had a radio ministry for three years KSBJ in Houston, Texas. J.R. attended seminary in Houston, Texas, and is an alumnus of Texas A&M. He’s owned and sold three successful businesses, worked in radio production, and on the air as a DJ for Christian stations in Houston, TX and Salem, MO. He was chairperson of United Christian Counselors of Missouri for nine years, and served as Youth Minister at Carr Lane Baptist Church in Missouri. Together, J.R. and Bonnie have written scripts for industrial film producers, plus had their own "talk" show on a Christian radio station in Salem, Missouri. Currently, they are producing audio versions of their daily devotionals that will soon be available through a link in the email version each day. Both J.R. and Bonnie are disabled, but continue their primary ministry – daily devotionals distributed all over the world, along with active mentoring and counseling of new Christians.

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      Book preview

      Living by Faith - Bonnie Ricks

      What others are saying about Living by Faith

      Fantastic study! This has helped me more than anything I’ve ever read! Thank you! GB

      I really enjoyed Living by Faith. It’s great to have this study all in one book where I can refer back to it as needed. Thanks for publishing this ebook! George

      Thank you for Living by Faith. I am lazy, like many people, I’m sure, and rather than having to look up all these references on my own, you’ve put it all together for me. Thanks a million times a million! Pat

      This is the only reference book I’ll ever need to study the Bible. Linda

      My stress is gone! I now know how to live my life with God truly in control. Bill

      I’ve always been a worrier. Now I understand that God never intended for me to do that. I can now truly live by faith. Thank you! Dylan

      You talk about the faith that could be contained in a mustard seed. If my faith had been put in a mustard seed, it would have rattled like a pea in a boxcar. Thank you for opening my eyes and showing me how to live the way God wants me to. Susan

      Before reading this book, I had more faith in the brakes on my car than I had in Jesus. My eyes have been opened. EJB

      The battle between the spirit and the flesh goes on every day. Now I have the upper hand – faith in Jesus. Thank you! Ronnie

      I never realized that it was important to believe that Jesus is who the Bible says He is! I’m going to spend a lot of time looking up everything I can about Him to make sure I am worshipping the right Jesus! Thank you. Evelyn

      Freedom by wisdom. I can’t think of two better words to describe the knowledge in this book. Mary

      Living by Faith

      by

      Bonnie Ricks

      and J.R. Ricks

      Copyright 2006, 2012 by Bonnie Ricks

      Smashwords Edition

      * * * * *

      All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

      Smashwords Edition License Notes

      This ebook is licensed for your personal use only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the author’s work.

      All Bible quotes contained in this book are from the New International Version 1984 (NIV1984), unless otherwise specified.

      Thirty steps that will help you learn to live totally by faith in Jesus… written by two people who have been living by faith in Jesus for over 25 years.

      Table of Contents

      Foreword

      Introduction

      Step 1 – Believing He Is Who He Says He Is

      Step 2 – Believe that All Things Are Possible Through Him

      Step 3 – Pray for Help in Your Unbelief

      Step 4 – Know It and Live It for Him

      Step 5 – Know that He Lives in You

      Step 6 – Know that He Hears You

      Step 7 – Be Transformed

      Step 8 – Have the Right Motives

      Step 9 – Seek Him First

      Step 10 – Stay Tuned in to Jesus

      Step 11 – Are You Confused?

      Step 12 – Ask Within His Will

      Step 13 – Asking for Signs

      Step 14 – Is Anything Too Small for God?

      Step 15 – Know that Your Requests Will Be Granted

      Step 16 – Sometimes He Says No

      Step 17 – Rejoice in Your Trials

      Step 18 – Rejoice and Pray Without Ceasing

      Step 19 - Unnatural Expectations

      Step 20 – Be of One Heart and Mouth with Others

      Step 21 – Do Not Quench the Spirit

      Step 22 – Have No Fear; Know that He Is in Control

      Step 23 – Hold Fast to the Good; Avoid Evil

      Step 24 – Be Prepared for and Expect the Best

      Step 25 – Praise Him when Others Hate You

      Step 26 – Rest in His Love; Wait Patiently for His Answers

      Step 27 – Keep Your Eyes on Jesus!

      Step 28 – The War Is Already Won!!

      Step 29 – Be an Overcomer!

      Step 30 – You’re There! So Obey God Rather than Men

      Foreword

      A few thoughts before beginning from J.R. Ricks

      "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

      Matthew 17:20-21

      Jesus told us what can be done with the amount of faith that could be contained in a mustard seed… and His statement was pretty amazing. If you’re not familiar with the size of a mustard seed, that verse may not have as great an impact as was intended. A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on the earth, and was the smallest seed used by gardeners and farmers in Israel. There is something very curious about a mustard seed. It cannot be changed botanically or genetically. Some plants can be changed by cross-breeding and cross-pollinating, but a mustard seed is always a mustard seed.

      You may wonder why I went through all of that in introducing this book. Living by Faith is a wonderful concept, but the tiny amount of faith that Jesus spoke of that He said would move mountains sometimes seems impossible to achieve. That is why Bonnie has written this book… to help you understand what it takes to truly live by faith.

      God has spent more than 25 years teaching the two of us how to live by faith, and believe me, we slip up all the time. It really takes a concerted effort to keep your mind and spirit based in real faith in God’s Word and His promises to all those who believe. This book is a result of many trials that God has allowed us to live through, and also, the many times His miraculous hand has delivered us from those trials, giving us a clear picture of His amazing attention to every detail of our lives.

      We commend you for desiring to live a life dedicated to Jesus, relying on His unwavering truth that is the basis for faith. As you go forward, it is our sincere hope that what we have been able to share in these pages will help to guide you and will become an invaluable resource that you can refer

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