Fear is the absence of faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God. Having said, "Let us pass over unto the other side", Jesus expected His disciples to believe that they would arrive there safely. However, the Lord was disappointed because the disciples manifested fear in the face of a storm instead of trusting that they would get over to the other side. They did not believe that the Lord would do as He had said.

A backslider is one who moves away from Christ rather that moving towards Him, after salvation by grace through faith. Backsliding is forbidden for every believer in Christ because it makes them unfit for the kingdom of God. There is no point in getting saved if one will not make heaven at last. In our walk with God, we must always remember Lot's wife, who was saved but later backslid by looking back with the desire to return to Sodom.

The primary reason why many believers are not cheerful is because of doubt and unbelief. What a contradiction! By manifesting an attitude of unbelief, we are inadvertently calling God a liar. But God cannot lie; His words must surely come to pass, therefore let us rejoice and be glad in Him always. Beloved, be fully persuaded that, what the Lord has promised, He is also able to perform.

The word of God declares that Abraham was fully persuaded that, what God had promised, He was able also to perform it. Although the promised Isaac did not come until after twenty-five years of waiting, Abraham overcame the temptation to stagger at the promise of God. He was strong in faith. He trusted the faithfulness of God who cannot lie but does whatever He promises.

The Bible warns us against covetousness but admonishes us to earnestly covet the best spiritual gifts. The value of the soul of a man is not measured by the abundance of his material possessions. What shall it profit you if your pocket is full and your heart is empty of God? Everyone who labours to enrich himself with the material things of this life at the expense of his impoverished soul can best be described as a fool.