October 2025
Happy Harvest Time! It's a joy to hear that folks are growing spiritually, who contacted me with little or no faith in Jesus. Some only wanted to hear about my past, but ended up receiving Christ. Then, there are those living in defeat, finding the Answer in God's love and grace. Others are walking victoriously by faith, praising God for my salvation. All of us have one thing in common -- our faith.
". . . without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6, NKJV).
Faith Pleases God . . .
Our goal is to please God through faith, not to establish our identity from the approval of other people.
• SET ASIDE fifteen (15) minutes to GET ALONE with God to hear His voice. "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10, KJV).
• READ this view OUT LOUD to yourself, especially the Scriptures. "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News of Christ" (Romans 10:17, NLT).
Listen, I grew up a people pleaser, seeking the approval of others. My sense of acceptance was based on my performance. I was tormented by the fear of failure in school and not succeeding in sports. As a result, I became an angry young man, self-medicating my pain with alcohol, sex and drugs. Though my parents took me to church from an early age, I was blinded by fear; unaware that I was starving for love, and that all I needed was faith in God's love for approval. I didn't stop trying to please others until the Holy Spirit enlightened my heart to God's love and grace. The apostle John wrote:
"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them . . . Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love" (1 John 4:16, 18, NLT).
In August 1969, I chose to commit the crimes because I simply didn't know God's love. Instead, I sought love and acceptance from a cult leader and his followers, due to worldly-deceptive beliefs and insecurities. Thank God, today I know how much God loves me. "This is real love -- not that we loved God, but he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins" (1 John 4:10, NLT). I've grown to understand that God's ". . . perfect love [at the cross] expels all fear," [but don't get me wrong, there are justifiable fears]. Jesus took my punishment for sin, so that the fear of punishment has no place in my heart. "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God" (1John 5:4-5, NKJV).
Faith Overcomes The World . . .
This world system has many antichrists; those who oppose the anointing of Christ [1 John 2:18-20]. For 2000 years, people have rejected the Truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ for a lie -- the course of this world. As Christians [Anointed ones], we're to ". . . not love this world nor the things it offers, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever" (1 John 2:15-17, NLT). We can only please God by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus, and by receiving Him as Lord, Savior and Righteousness. That is, receiving forgiveness of sin and eternal life through His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6; cf. Acts 4:12, NKJV).
"Dear children, don't let anyone deceive you about this [like I was with Manson]: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God's family do not make a practice of sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God" (1 John 3:7-10, NLT).
Faith In God's Love . . .
Our faith in God's love and grace brings an eternal reward. "For this is how God loved the world [the people]: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NLT). I memorized this verse as a child in Vacation Bible School, and God used it twenty years later to regenerate my heart. My feelings of condemnation, guilt and the fear were expelled by God's perfect love. At that moment, I saw the face of Jesus glowing in the mirror, reflecting back at me the glory of the Lord. Then I knew for certain, that "God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him" (John 3:17, NLT).
I've experienced this empowerment of love many times throughout the years in trials and tribuations. I call it the baptism of love in the Spirit, revealing that my Heavenly Father is well pleased by the faith He sees in me. I firmly ". . . believe that He is [love], and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." But be not deceived, this isn't a religious ceremony of dead works, going through the motions. This is the life of Jesus manifested in our mortal body through faith in the finished works of Christ. The apostle Paul put it like this: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ [the Anointed One] lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, NKJV). I beg you to accept God's love and grace for salvation -- the free gift of forgiveness, righteousness and eternal life offered by Jesus Christ.
Twelve Levels Of Faith . . .
In this powerful Abounding Love podcast, I begin a two-part series on the Twelve Levels of Faith from the KJV Bible. We'll cover six (6) levels in this episode. Level #1: No Faith [Deuteronomy 32:15-20; Mark 4:35-41]; Level #2: Little Faith [Matthew 6:30-33; 14:25-31]; Level #3: Weak Faith [Romans 4:19-22]; and Level #4: Shipwrecked Faith [1 Timothy 1:18-20]. These first four levels aren't any kind of faith worth having, Amen? Level #5: A Growing Faith [2 Thessalonians 1:3; Romans 10:17]; and Level #6: Unfeigned Faith [sincere, not fake; 1 Timothy 1:5-7] begins your victorious faith walk.
It helps to increase your faith by understanding Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." God's Word gives your faith substance [essence or reality] of things hoped for [confidence it will actually happen]. It gives evidence [assurance or proof] that what is unseen is real. Are you trusting in God and His Word, or looking at the situation or circumstance? Hebrews 11:6 says, ". . . 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." We see from this verse alone how necessary faith is in the life of the believer. Join me as we consider these and other Scriptures, plus check in with me next week for Levels 7 through 12, to advance into the Most Holy Faith. Selah!
[Click here for the Abounding Love podcast episode #190 "Twelve Levels Of Faith #1," dated 9/26/'25].
A Prayer For You . . .
Heavenly Father, I've sought to please others and find love and acceptance in family and friends all my life only to come up empty. I'm seeing that only Your love can fill the void in my life. I believe that You so loved the world that You gave Your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Jesus Christ should not perish but have everlasting life. I believe that Jesus took the punishment for my sin, bled and died on the cross for my forgiveness, and rose again to provide eternal life. You have redeemed me by the blood of Jesus. I confess with my mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in my heart that You raised Him from the dead for my righteousness. If you can save Charles and deliver him from the fear of punishment, there is hope for me! I call upon You for my salvation too! I receive You as my Savior, Lord and Righteousness. Today is my day [date, time] of my salvation. Amen!