Salvation is available for all, regardless of who they are. All is needed is faith. But this faith must have a certain quality to it and also a specific content. It is not enough for people to simply say that they have faith. In what way do they believe? Many people claim that they believe but are not saved. In addition, what exactly do they believe in? Many people believe that God exist but remain separated from God. We must understand how salvation is made available for all.

It is not easy to pray. All of us struggle in this area. We know we need to pray but something or someone always hinders us. Sometimes, it's even us! The apostle Peter says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray." (1 Peter 4:7) It's important to understand these hindrances so that by God's grace we can overcome them.

Faith is very important in the Christian life. Unfortunately, many people misunderstand the nature of true faith. Some think of faith only in terms of having the right beliefs or doctrines. Others think of faith as doing religious practices such as going to church, reading the Bible, praying, etc. Still, others think of faith as trying to be sure about something even though deep down we are not really sure. Although these may be manifestations of some form of faith, they do not define true faith.

When someone gives you a gift, you simply receive it and thank the person who gave it. You don't try to pay for it. You don't try to reciprocate by giving the person a gift also so that you won't have any obligation. Such an attitude will be an insult to the giver unless the gift was not really a gift but a form of manipulation. Righteousness is a gift from God. It is freely given with no strings attached. We are simply to receive it by faith with thanksgiving in our hearts.

We all tend to rely on ourselves when it comes to our relationship with God. We may not say it outright but, whenever we fail, we blame ourselves. We feel unworthy before the Lord. Sometimes we may even walk away from God because of shame. Why? Our focus is still on ourselves and what we can do to make ourselves righteous before God. We must understand the true importance of faith.

Once we understand the bad news of our situation due to sin, we can now appreciate fully the good news about Jesus. Jesus is the true and final answer to the problems of sin that we are all suffering from. When we put our faith in Him, God's salvation begins to work in our lives. It all starts with justification which is God forgiving us from all our sins through faith in Jesus Christ. How does this happen?

Our understanding of our real problem as human beings will determine the solution we think we really need. If the problem is economic, we may propose economic solutions like having equal opportunities for all or lowering the inflation rate or interest rate, etc. If the problem is ignorance, we would assume knowledge is the key. Let's put up more schools, etc. If we think the problem is criminality, let's put more people in jails or let's come up with more laws, etc. In other words, if we don't understand the real problem, we will always come up with the wrong solutions. For Paul, our universal problem is sin, and the only real solution is the Gospel.

Many changes are going on all around us. Most of them are beyond our control. Such changes bring with them certain challenges. But how we will be affected and how we will respond is still our choice. In addition, these changes create opportunities for us to partner with God in bringing about His purposes in our lives and in the lives of others. This partnership can only happen in and through prayer. Prayer is our lifeline to God and His kingdom. Through prayer, we can see greater things happen for the glory of God and the good of His people. It's time to start praying for a change.

Some people find it hard to reconcile the concept of God's wrath with what they perceive to be the character of God. In other words, if God loves us, how can He judge us? For many, God's wrath is inconsistent with His loving, kind, and merciful character. They cannot reconcile those two concepts. It's either one or the other. It cannot be both. Thus, they stumble. But God's wrath is not contrary to His character.

What does it mean to be truly spiritual, pious, or godly? Many people today claim to be pious or religious and so they do not think that they need to be saved. They reject the Gospel because they believe that being dutiful in their religious duties and obligations is enough to please God. So, they continue to practice their religion and reject the true righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel which is by faith in Jesus Christ.