Our Verse: Matt 14:31 Jesus said: “Why did you doubt Me?”

In the next 2 episodes, you are going to meet two men, and two very different experiences! One is a country boy fishing for a living, the other a career Roman officer, from a rich family, serving in a foreign land. Both learned to put their faith, their trust, in the Lord Jesus Christ.

First the faith flop- Peter. He was well-meaning, a tough commercial fisherman in great shape. He was your true "Ready, fire, aim” sort of guy. Sincere as they come, but often saying and doing things that made others roll their eyes! Jesus challenged Peter to use his faith to walk on the surface of a lake. Now this is clearly in the realm of miracles, a unique phenomena that could only come directly from God. 200 pound men are not supported by the surface tension of water. Although Pete wasn't a scientist, he certainly understood the principle.

He actually stepped out of the boat and stood on the surface of the water. Jesus said “Come” and Peter obeyed. As long as Peter was looking at Jesus he did fine, the water supported his weight. But then Peter lost his focus on Jesus and started watching those waves. Eyes on the waves and off Jesus...well, let one of the guys in the boat tell the story...

When Peter saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?
Jesus gently scolded Peter. Our brother learned a great lesson there on the lake. “I need to keep my eyes on Jesus and not my surroundings.” Wise words indeed!

Next on the Mountain- Meet a Roman officer who becomes a Faith Powerhouse!

Our Verse: Hebrews 13:5,6 God has said, “I will never fail you, I will never abandon you.” So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, I will have no fear.

Today we introduce Machmuda, a young Gypsy mother of 2 in Serbia, near Greece. Gypsies are a unique people group. Thought to have originated in India, they have migrated around the world and now live in many countries. We met Machmuda while traveling through Serbia. She had recently become a Christian, and shared an amazing story.

Her father-in-law had repeatedly stolen food money meant for her children. He was too strong to oppose, so she cried out to Jesus to help her. One night, God sent a terrible nightmare to her father-in-law. The dream made it very clear that he was to give her the money. Trembling, he came the next morning and returned the money.

As she told us this story, tears flowed, but then, she began to smile. Solemnly, she reached into her small purse and pulled out a few dinars, the local currency.
She said, “I want to pay my first ever offering to God, I am thankful that He helped me and my children.”

Her behavior was the farthest thing from normal Gypsy culture. Getting and holding wealth is everything for them. My friend, a pastor, was able to receive her small gift. It was all smiles and happiness as she honored God.

Machmuda was growing into a beautiful Christian woman step-by-step, as she walked by faith obeying God.
Here's the moral of the story: If you put God first, and cry out for His help He will take care of you. Pray for your sister Machmuda, that she will be blessed as a woman and a mom. She is truly a God honoring Determined Woman!

Our Verse: I John 5:5 And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

In our series, three young women stand strong for God, determined to do the right thing.

Today meet Janette, from Eastern Europe. Her battle was different from Iqbal's. At an early age, she was discovered to be a musical genius. She blossomed into an outstanding professional violinist. She received many honors and became a star performer in her country's national orchestra. She traveled internationally as a performing artist. Through a dramatic chain of events, Janette accepted Christ as her Savior. She continued to receive benefits and accolades in her professional career, but deep down she felt her first priority was to serve Jesus. The day came when she told her father she must leave the orchestra and her career. She would be sell her expensive violin. That Janette was a professional violinist meant everything to her father. He became very angry and said “You are no longer my daughter, LEAVE!” It was a time of great sadness for Janette. She followed her conviction and sold that precious violin. In the following years, she served God. He brought her a strong godly husband and eventually gave back her music. Jesus said, “Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.”
This verse became Janette's reality- she gave up all to serve Jesus, He gave back even more! He blessed her then...and He continues to bless her to this day.
Oh..and a PS Her pop became a Christian, they were fully reconciled and now he waits in Heaven for her! Best ending you could have. God truly is good!

Next: Machmuda's Miracle!

Our Verse: 1 John 5:5 Who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.

Here are 3 stories of modern day girls who fought battles. God helped them “win the battle against the world”. Iqbal, Janette and Machmuda.

Iqbal lives in Serbia, near Greece. It's a place where ancient feuds don't die, they continue for many years. As a young girl, she was forbidden to walk on certain paths near her village. The people who traveled those paths were on the other side of a local feud involving her people. All of her people were under a terrible obligation called hak-marr-yah. This meant that when anyone in her family saw any member of the opposing family they were required to kill them! And... they were required to kill her! It sounds crazy, but that was the rule of the feud.

The time came when the young people of Iqbal's village realized it was ridiculous to continue the feud. Iqbal and others said “We can't continue doing this. This is not pleasing to God. We need to change this.” So while the older people continued hak-marr-yah, the blood feud, Iqbal and her friends made a plan. They decided to declare a day called Pie-ah-teem, roughly translated forgiveness and redemption. On a certain day in the mid 90's,they declared “Pie-ah-teem- A day of forgiveness”. Young and old agreed to bring their feud to an end. No longer would Iqbal walk some paths and avoid others fearing for her life. A new peace and security came to her village. Sometimes it takes one or more people to stand for what's right and publicly proclaim it. Iqbal stood up and won her battle, let's follow her example, both men and women!

Next time: Janette and the violin.

Our Verse: John 14:6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

It gets harder and harder each day to find truth in our world. Many data streams today are corrupted with lies and misrepresentations- Think elections or Wikileaks! This makes many of us unwilling to accept any information. The result- we end up cynical.

We all yearn for data that we can trust, that we know to be accurate, reliable, true.
There actually is such a data stream. This information has been recorded by God Himself as a way of communicating with us. This data stream is His words, the Bible. It's complex, involving huge amounts of information. All of this information requires decryption, a special key to unlock it. Because of our pride, we don't want to ask God for the key. He works inside each one of us to break down that pride so we can humbly ask.

And what is this key, this tool to unlock God's words? It's a personal connection with Him, what we might call the faith key. You reach out to Him, “God show me the answers” and suddenly and progressively, He unlocks the information, you begin to understand. He gives you both facts and personal experience with Him so your trust, your faith, is based on reality and feelings!

It takes a lifetime to decrypt God's data stream. Parts of His message are very clear and easy to understand; other parts remain encrypted, closed. Daily reading of His words is our process to grasp His information.

Jesus spent his 33 year mission providing data about God and His ways. His coming was one of many ways God provided factual evidence for His existence. That evidence is God's data stream. Unlock your Bible with your faith and you will find satisfying answers.

Our Verse: Genesis 3:6 “Eve took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband...and he ate it too.”

As we look at the world today, we see disaster, tragedy, suffering. Deep within, we struggle to understand it all. Why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? God tells us the answer to this in the book of Genesis. We can identify the exact moment when sin came into the world. By sin we mean an act of disobedience to what God said.

In God's design of the world, He allowed a tree to grow which produced a special kind of fruit. When people ate the fruit, it empowered them to perceive two things, all good and all evil. This “good and evil” tree was placed in the garden to give men a choice- a choice to do good or a choice to disobey. God instructed Adam and Eve to eat from all the trees in the garden except this one. He warned them what would happen if they did.

God is the ultimate Chooser. Whatever He wants, He can do. He designed us humans to be like Himself, able to choose. This is why the good and evil tree was created and placed in the Garden.

People worldwide can choose good or evil. Their choices make our world the place it is today. God allows these choices for a time. There will come a perfect moment in world history when every person, man, woman and child will have chosen. The next moment after that, God will complete His work to redeem the world. He will make it totally new. All the bad choices will be forever gone and good choices will be the only desire of those living on the earth. The God story has a truly amazing, happy and complete ending. Then a whole New Story will begin, one we talk about in other Mountain episodes. Dont miss that Story!

Last time we asked What is prayer? It is two way communication between a human and God. Listening to and talking with God come naturally when you become His child by faith in Jesus.

You might ask- Does Prayer really work? Does God hear me, will He answer me? The Answer: Absolutely!!

Jesus taught in Matt 7:7 “ASK, and you will receive what you ask for.
SEEK, and you will find. KNOCK, and the door will be opened to you. Everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. His instructions are clear!

There are some things we need to remember as we pray-
If we are doing or thinking sinful things we can block our prayer connection to God.

Psalm 66, If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

When we are walking obediently with Him, amazing things can happen!
The earnest prayer of a man in right standing with God has great power and wonderful results! James 5:16

Prayer answers come in different ways- Yes, No and Wait! We trust God for what we need when we need it. His answer may be something spiritual, material or emotional. He sees all and knows what is best for us His children!

Waiting sometimes means He wants us to listen for His voice, to wait for His instructions- both in our heart and thru reading our Bible. Yup, He can speak to you thru those pages!

Prayer is real and prayer works! Millions of God followers have learned how and talk to our Father in Heaven every day! Go for it!

Our verse- Psalm 27:8 When You, God, said, Seek my face...my heart said to you, “Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Many of us wonder, How do I pray? Will God hear my prayer?

First, God is everywhere 24/7, He is omnipresent. He never says “leave a message”. He is always listening for us. And... He wants to talk to us if we listen.

Here's a definition- Prayer is two way communication between a human and God- it can be spoken words or from your mind. Prayer sometimes comes from deep in the soul without words and most times God speaks to your mind- to inside you.

There is no position, formal attitude or certain words required for Him to hear you. You talk with God, honest and respectful. He knows everything, He's omniscient. He even knows the words you will speak, but He loves to hear from those He created.

Finally, He is omnipotent, all powerful. He can do everything we need. This is why Jesus taught all His followers to pray, “ Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6.

Jesus taught us how to pray. He is our example. He prayed regularly and with all His heart.
He tells us to pray in the Lord's Prayer, again, Matthew 6
You can read how Jesus prayed in John 17 in the New Testament.
Hurting people pray simple- a blind man said “Jesus have mercy on me” , a convicted criminal said “Lord remember me!”
You can always come to God, no formality or special words are required, just respect.
We should be ready to hear... as well as to speak.
Make regular times to pray and listen- and be ready anytime to ask God for help!
Hebrews 4 says- “let us come boldly to the throne of Grace to receive mercy and grace in time of need.”

Our Verse: 2 Peter 1:21 ...those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

Do you ever wonder what those strange prophecies really mean? Have you noticed how they can include both the present time of the prophet and future times as they are spoken? Let's try to find a way to study and understand Old Testament prophecy.
The ancient prophets were speaking to the people of their times. God spoke through them to instruct and correct their leaders, friends and neighbors. God also included in their prophetic messages events in the future. Most prominent among these future events was the life and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ. God also foretold world events in the final times prior to Christ's return to earth.

In handling Old Testament prophecies, we need an intellectual structure. Here it is:

First, accept that not all prophecy is understandable yet. Many future events in Scripture are yet to be revealed. God will, in His time, open people's understanding and reveal future events.

Second, Seek God's wisdom to understand the prophecies of Scripture. At the right time, God will reveal parts of his Word to you personally, those things you don't yet understand.

Third, God seeks spiritually mature people both to deliver prophecies and bring public understanding of prophecies. We have examples of this in the Old and New Testaments. Daniel, a wise and godly man, was the human vehicle God used to bring many prophecies. Some he delivered are yet to come.

Jesus prophesied His own death, His future return to earth and many other things. Early Christians, like Agabus and Peter, likewise delivered prophecies for their time and for the future.

Don't stress as you read Old and New Testament prophecies. Ask God for wisdom as you read, and He will reveal everything you need to know.

In summary:
Not all prophecies are understandable today.
Seek God's help to understand prophecies.
Seek to be a spiritually mature believer.

Our Verse: Luke 10:24 Jesus told his students, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, and they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

You know that feeling when the wind changes direction; it happens at my house. The wind usually comes from the south, but sometimes the wind turns and starts to blow from the north. When this happens, we know cold weather is on the way.

The ancient prophets felt something like this. Things had been the same for centuries, but now they sensed a change was coming, much like a change in the weather. They wrote about a series of events that would touch all mankind. They sensed God was about to change the world/ by sending part of Himself among men. He communicated and they recorded evidence of the coming of Christ long before he arrived.

First century God followers knew these writings. As they walked and talked with Jesus, the ancient prophecies came true before their eyes! After Jesus returned to Heaven, His followers wrote about their adventures with Him, that's the New Testament. Today, we get it all, the ancient prophecies and the New Testament fulfillment of them.

God now lets you to see the entire picture, that's your Bible! Now/ you can know His plan to make all things right in the world. It will all happen. Let's be patient and diligent as His followers. Do your work well, love and serve those in your world and at just the right moment His Kingdom will come.

Here's Peter, one of Jesus' students, writing about those ancient prophecies:
This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about...
They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you...so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching.

Mountain Friends- May your experience be filled with joy and confidence as you read God's message!