The Abc's of Faith and Having a Relationship with God

By Melissa Erickson

Years of studying Gods Word has brought Melissa to write this book. It is her first book, but definitely not her last. She is passionate about helping others become free from bondage. Leading everyone she can to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is her mission in life. Melissa is married and lives in Lake City, MN on a hobby farm with her husband Andrew. Melissa and Andrew each brought a daughter into their marriage. Ashley is 19 and resides in Arizona. Alexandra is 9 and lives in a neighboring town with her mother. Melissa enjoys reading, writing, hiking, canoeing, camping and spending time with loved ones.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jun 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490878539

Melissa Erickson

Years of studying God’s Word has brought Melissa to write this book. It is her first book, but definitely not her last. She is passionate about helping others become free from bondage. Leading everyone she can to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is her mission in life. Melissa is married and lives in Lake City, MN on a hobby farm with her husband Andrew. Melissa and Andrew each brought a daughter into their marriage. Ashley is 19 and resides in Arizona. Alexandra is 9 and lives in a neighboring town with her mother. Melissa enjoys reading, writing, hiking, canoeing, camping and spending time with loved ones.

Book preview

THE ABC’S OF

FAITH AND HAVING

A RELATIONSHIP

WITH GOD

MELISSA ERICKSON

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Copyright © 2015 Melissa Erickson.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-7854-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7855-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-7853-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015906628

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/24/2015

CONTENTS

Ask

Believe

Compassion

Deliver

Edification

Faith

Grace

Holy Spirit

Intercession

Joy

Kingdom

Love

Mercy

Name Above All Names: Jesus

Obedience

Prayer

Quarrel

Renew

Seed

Truth

Understanding

Victory

Wisdom

Examine

Yoke

Zeal

I dedicate this book to my wonderful family. First, I want to thank my handsome husband, Andrew, for always believing in me no matter what! Thank you, Andrew, for being my best friend, a wonderful husband, and a great father to our girls. Thank you for always standing by my side and believing in me to fulfill my dreams.

Next, I thank my Little Princess, my stepdaughter, Alexandra, for all the beautiful love notes I would find along the way in my manuscript and all the scraps of paper I had Scriptures and references written on.

I also want to thank my Beautiful Princess, Ashley, for her lifelong support as we have grown together in this life. Thank you, Ashley, for having such a beautiful heart. It means so much to me as I have watched you grow up and become such a loving young woman.

I want to thank my beloved Pastors Shaun and Amy Gustafson for their never-ending obedience to our heavenly Father. Thank you for the Christlike love that you extend to everyone you come into contact with. Thank you for always believing in me and supporting me when I thought I wasn’t worthy of anything good.

I want to thank my beautiful friend, Rebecca, who has been my confidante and the best cheerleader a girl could ever ask for.

I want to thank Julie Alicea from 212 Degree Leadership for her great coaching and support, as well as her friendship.

Last, but not least, I thank my heavenly Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit for their never-ending support, guidance, wisdom, direction, love, and blessings, and for always and in all circumstances staying by my side, especially when I wanted to give up on every level.

I love you all. Each one of you is a big part of who I am today. Thank you.

PREFACE

This book was written to give anyone who is searching for the foundation that they need to establish a solid relationship with the triune God: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son of God, and God the Holy Spirit.

It is my intention that you will read this book and will journey into the Scriptures and be awakened to the love of God and to the special sacrifice that Jesus gave to us. I pray that you will come to a realization of the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the significance of our reliance on Him.

This book is broken down into sections, and as the title indicates, it is in ABC style.

When I was first given the inspiration to write this book, I thought the Lord was going to have me write a children’s book. But much to my surprise, this is what He had in mind. While writing, I have tried to make this book simple and basic. I did this in order to give a good base of each topic listed.

It has taken me a few years to put this book together, and the Lord has used that time to deepen my understanding of every topic that is brought out.

I am confident that as you and I continue to apply the principles of The ABC’s of Faith that we will see God’s love and blessings manifest in our lives like never before.

By all means, this is not an exhaustive study on any one of these topics. It is merely a base foundation into God’s Word.

Like any sport or game you play, there is a base that you go by that is the foundation of the whole playing process. That is what this book is intended to be: a base on which anyone, no matter their spiritual level, can reflect on these foundational principles of faith and broaden his or her relationship with God. I pray that God will bless you richly as you continue to seek Him and His love on your journey through this life.

INTRODUCTION

In this book we are going to go through the alphabet, letter by letter, and look into some topics to help us grow in our faith and relationship with God. Beginning with A, I have listed the topics we are going to go through: ask, believe, compassion, deliver, edification, faith, grace, Holy Spirit, intercession, joy, kingdom, love, mercy, name above all names, obedience, prayer, quarrel, renew, seed, truth, understanding, victory, wisdom, eXamine, yoke, and zeal.

As you can see, we are going to delve into some wonderful topics! Each one is important for growing in faith, staying in faith, and reaching deeper levels of intimacy with our loving Father.

I believe with my whole heart, that as you take your time and study this material prayerfully, you will go to levels of faith and intimacy with God that you never dreamed possible.

I encourage you to write on the note pages in each section to help you study this material.

This book is not a light read. Although it may be written in a simple, easy-to-read format, each of these topics is deep and has an infinite amount of potential to help you grow in your understanding from now in this life on earth and on into eternity.

I encourage you to take your time and be gentle with yourself as you study this material. I believe God is going to do a great work in you! I know He has with me as I have embarked on this journey.

God bless,

Melissa

ASK

The very definitions of the word ask are to use words in seeking the answer to a question; to inquire of a person; to request or demand; or to invite. Jeremiah 33:3 says the Lord beckons to us: Call to me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know. I want you to know without a shadow of a doubt that our heavenly Father loves us dearly, and He wants us to ask Him for help. He wants to help us in all things big or small.

James 1:17 says, Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. The truth is, my friend, that we are not fit to direct our own steps. We desperately need to ask God for His guidance, wisdom, strength, mercy, love, and grace. It says, In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps in Proverbs 16:9, and Jeremiah 10:23 states, I know Lord that a man’s life is not his own it is not for man to direct his steps. This is very important for us to understand.

Proverbs 16:9 says that in his heart a man plans his course. I want you to realize that there isn’t anything wrong with planning in your heart. God puts desires, dreams, and passions in our hearts for a divine purpose.

It also says in Proverbs 16:9, But the Lord determines our steps. Here is the key to fulfilling our dreams, desires, and goals. Sure, we could walk it out alone without the direction of the all-knowing Creator and our loving Father, but why would we? God wants us to be safe on this journey of life. He wants to help us navigate through all the rough terrain that will be in front of us. God didn’t send us out on our journey without a road map (the Bible), a guide (the Holy Spirit), and a teacher (Jesus) to help us along the way.

And as if that wasn’t enough, we have direct contact twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week to the headmaster Himself, God Almighty! Asking isn’t just a Sunday thing either. Asking isn’t only for big things; it includes little things as well. I want you to ask God for direction, wisdom, insight, and truth in all areas that I am including in this book. I encourage you to ask God at the beginning of each day to guide you in all you do.

Be bold and ask Him for divine appointments and people whom you can help. Do your asking in a quiet place with your Bible open and a notebook and pen handy. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6 NKJV). The word supplication means to ask or request something humbly. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear [reverence] the Lord and shun evil (Proverbs 3:5–7).

My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear [reverence] of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

(Proverbs 2:1–6 NKJV)

My friend, God is ready! He is more than willing and able to fill us with His wisdom and direction. God is able to help us with anything we could seek from Him and any help we ask Him for. God’s Word, the Holy Bible, is full of sound teachings in every aspect of our lives. Friend, it doesn’t matter if what you are asking about pertains to money, marriage, family, friendships, business, emotional hurts, or health! God has everything covered in the Bible: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we ask of Him (1 John 5:14–15).

When you seek time alone with God, have your Bible out and a notebook so you can write down any Scriptures the Lord brings out to you. This is what the Lord the God of Israel says, ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you’ (Jeremiah 30:2). Just be plain—write down any thoughts that rise up in your spirit as you pray. Write down any Scriptures that come to mind or any Scriptures that seem to be highlighted or that speak to you as you read them.

It is also important to do something with what the Lord is telling you. Don’t just write it down and forget about it. Take some action in whatever God is directing you to do: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22). The doing part is so important. You know as well as I do that we can get all the instruction that we want, but if we don’t do anything with that instruction, it is all for nothing.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17 NKJV). Inspiration means any stimulus to create thought or action to inspire an idea or action. God clearly gave us the Scriptures to help us with whatever we ask Him for. They prompt us to take action with what God has given us in answer to what we have asked.

You will know that what you are hearing is from God if it is accompanied