It’s Always Time to Believe & Receive

22 Dec It’s Always Time to Believe & Receive

December 21, 2025

It’s always time to Believe & Receive

Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? John11:40

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23

I would like to start with a quote from Arthur W. Pink from his book Gleaning in Genesis. “Abraham believed God: not Abraham obeyed God, or loved God, or served God; but Abraham believed God. And it was counted unto him for (not instead of, but unto) righteousness. This is the standpoint from which we’d like to start and finish today.

It’s the holiday season and for some reason when we get in the mist of the holiday season, it’s like an invisible switch comes on where people get nicer, I did not say kind because kindness is a attribute of God, it a characteristic of the believer and we are to put it on we keep it on as a part of who we are.  Colossians 3:12. Believing God should be the same way.  See Abraham believed God, “And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). Believing is a heart condition.  It can be good (Romans 10:9-10) or not (see Matthew 15:18-20). Even doubt can be found in the heart (James 1:6-7), which can be a block to blessings and receiving, which we will also discuss in our lesson today.  

Believe

Remember, Abraham is the father of all who believe (Romans 4:16), and the concept of being justified by faith is a foundational theme in both the Old and New Testaments.

There are so many Bible examples of people who believed God, simply taking Him at His Word. King David said in Psalm 27:13, “I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” Then there’s Joshua, Caleb, Mary, the mother of Jesus, Noah, who built an ark according to God’s instructions.  And in your life, think back on times when you just believed and received.  Hopefully, it was not long ago, as faith to believe should always be active. What a powerful revelation to know we can just believe God.  In our opening quote from Arthur W. Pink, he is not saying that obeying, loving, and serving God are not important; they are. What he was speaking of is the truth of Justification by Faith alone.  For example, the Apostle Thomas loved Jesus I’m sure but doubted the report that he had risen from the grave. John 20:24-29. The children of Israel obeyed the instructions to borrow the riches from the Egyptians; they placed the blood over the doorpost, walked on dry land across the Red Sea, yet would not believe that God would deliver the enemies in the land into their hands.  Exodus 3:21-22,12:7, Exodus14, and Numbers14. See faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1.

Believe and Receive Like a Child

The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7

Children believe in receiving, and we can learn from them. By now, every child has made their Christmas list and is just waiting for Christmas day to arrive so they can lay hold of their request(s). Children have no problem believing in the things they want with all their hearts for Christmas or any other time of year, and, if properly trained, they express sincere gratitude when they receive. We were at the mall last week and saw children with their parents, and everyone was on their best behavior and so happy. This little girl was just singing “Merry, Merry Christmas, Merry, Merry Christmas,” while her father swung her hand. That’s how we need to be with our Heavenly Father as a child: just believing and knowing that Father God hears and will grant our requests and desires if we ask in faith and do not get tripped up on how it’s going to come or by who, no matter how small or large.   For example, my mom and I went to a big event last weekend, and when we left the house, I said, “Lord, you know, I need a good park,” and we went to the event. Navigation took us the wrong way, and all the parking lots were full, and the buses for parking had stopped running when we arrived.  Long story short, I stopped a police officer, who sent me to another officer, who parked us at the venue’s front door.  Or needing a car, a volunteer, and some children (ages 3-7) from our outreach ministry dropped by my house and prayed with me for a car so we would not miss our next meeting, and I had the car. I saw in a vision the next week.  Also, how a few days ago, my cousin was looking for this requested granddaughter gift, and we walked into a restaurant to pick up lunch, and they had the gift her granddaughter wanted at the door when we entered. Hallelujah!

When we Believe

When we believe in God, He will guide us in our next steps in His plan for our lives. Lord Jesus will move us to more than enough/overflow status in provision, protection, and prosperity. He will financially and spiritually bless us. He will heal us, can get us out of all kinds of situations, and delivers us, our family, our neighborhoods, and our nation; nothing is too hard for Him.

Have a Merry Christmas. It’s coming up this week, but it can be Christmas all year long if we just choose to Believe and Receive!

Theresa Woodard