It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

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Life Choices- Cause and Effect

Our lives are the sum total of our choices. Though we may not have realized it when we were young, it was the choices we made as youth and young adults that set the course of our lives. This is one of humanity’s created gifts from God that is man’s ability to choose. The choices we make will not only affect our life but it will influence our eternity. What we fail to associate with our choices are the consequences that follow. We do have a say about the choices we make but we do not have a say in the consequences. Consequences are the results of actions. It is explained in Newton’s third law of motion says with every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. These are natural principles that are evident in this world system.

In the natural physical world, there are principles and natural laws that flow, some people may call it Karma or cause and effect, or Newton’s third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal reaction and for all choices there are corresponding actions or results of those choices. We do not like to hear the word consequences because it brings a negative connotation to mind, but good or bad there are results with every decision we make in the natural. There are also spiritual principles and God has provided supernatural principles and precepts for us to alter and rise above the natural ways of this fallen system. We can be transformed from our past into a new creation through faith in the completed work of Christ.

Many people do not want to be responsible for their own actions and want to believe the things they are going through just happened or is someone else’s fault. Some things we experience may not be a direct reflection of our choices and may be part of a legacy from our parents and past generations. Some people call these traits or status we inherit from our family be it generational curses or generational blessings of the parents.

We have examples of both ways some children end up in poverty because of the poor choices of their parents and other children undeserving inheriting wealth as the result of their parents’ work and dedication. These are natural principles. Just as gravity will flow and will naturally pull things down to the earth. It is only when a greater law or principle is implemented that will override gravity’s pull and allow an object to fly. Like the greater law of lift moves a plane beyond the impact of the lesser law of gravity and flight is possible.

The principles are the same with the natural law of the sins of the father may be passed on to the children and may affect their lives.  But when a greater spiritual law is implemented, Jesus’ payment for sins then the consequence of our natural parents and our own actions are cancelled and become of no effect because the spiritual and eternal is greater than the natural and temporal.  When we accept Jesus, we have a new Father, a new inheritance and we are a new creation and the old things are passed away.

2 Corinthians 4:18    While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. NKJV  

We cannot predict the future but, we can learn from the past, from the choices we or our parents have made in the past and see where they lead. We can as an act of our will choose to make different choices. There are some natural rules that we can look at which may be indicators of probability, like those who choose to advance their education will have a greater probability or chance at making a better living then those who do not. This is a rule of thumb not absolutes or principle because we have seen the opposite on both sides of the spectrum.

Just as those who choose to pursue God’s word and walk in it tend to live life with meaning and purpose. Their lives may not be perfect or without challenges but it can have meaning. We want to be careful with how we define Christ followers, they are not those who go to church and claim to be religious and call themselves Christians. They are those who actually follow Christ, those who seek to know the true God, develop a relationship with their creator and walk in His way. We are to seek first God’s kingdom and acknowledge the righteousness we have because of our faith in Christ and not because of our works or efforts.

There are the naysayers who refuse to believe the Word of God and they tend to allow life experiences, their culture, and allow other people to define truth for them. We are all given a life to live with a created purpose, to bring glory to God on the earth. We all are allowed to make our life choices. God did not change His created purpose for mankind even though mankind chose to rebel against God and obeyed Satan. He provided another opportunity for us to return to Him through faith in Christ.

Throughout time people change, time changes, life experiences differ, and our culture changes but God stays the same. We have allowed our culture to define truth and direction for us.  Sometimes a culture will magnify one particular way of living and life experiences while putting another down and making it inferior and they will define these cultural differences as truth. Some cultures will lift themselves up while setting for others a direction or course in life that is beneath them and is not true. If a person does not have a compass that points to the “true north,” truth which is seen in the Bible, to help direct them they will be blown in various directions. We have seen it too often with the decision’s leaders make and they will have the masses follow. People like Hitler to name one, lead people to destruction because they lack the knowledge of God’s truth that all humanity was created in His image.

We have heard it said, “Raising children is guess work because they do not come with a manual!” That is culture speaking because God has given us a guide book, His word; in it we find directions and instruction on how to raise our children.  The Bible, like most manuals, are not read and the instructions become useless then people wonder why things are not working well. Since the fall of humanity, when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, mankind thinks they have all the knowledge they need to live life. This is another lie from the enemy.

God never changes, He did not change His created purpose, and all men were created in His image.  With the fall of man, we lost the glory of God that was on mankind and they no longer looked like or acted like what we were created to be. Mankind lost the image and the character of God. They were so far removed from what they were created to be it took Jesus to come and pay our debt that we may be reinstated back into the family of God. Jesus came and showed us our created purpose and our true character as created in God’s image.

Jesus was a person who had compassion for all the people especially for those who were the least in society. Those who were without and did not have the best things and people who were sick and hungry. He loved others more than He loved His own life.  He gave His life that we may receive grace, mercy and to show us the love God has for us through His words and actions.

Therefore, if we must take a position or a stance on a belief, let it be truth which is the infallible Word of God, who is the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. We should not let our limited knowledge, life experiences or the things we go through define who we are. The world is in a fallen state of chaos and sin.  Mankind has an enemy who comes to kill and to steal our identity and the purpose for which we were created, to be like and reflect the image of God. There is a struggle, we will have opposition in life but we can live this life victoriously when we walk in the knowledge of truth according to the word of God.

God calls those who follow Christ His beloved children and this world system will try to destroy our image as God’s beloved, our purpose and our hope for the future. The Most-High God did not leave us in that fallen state of depravity, thank you Lord, He sent Jesus. Jesus came that we might be restored and to have life and a more abundant life. God gave us His written word in the Bible so that it will give us insight and light in this dark fallen world and that we may receive understanding to know how we are to live this life victoriously.

John 10:10          The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.  I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. NKJV

Psalm 34: 12-14              Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. NIV

Psalms 1:1-3   Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers.  NIV

Deuteronomy 30:19-20  This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before your life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. NIV

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The Mind and Innovative Thinking

We have heard it said the mind is the battlefield, which is true, but the battle is for the mind. The mind is where we make all our determinations in life and where we use our will. It is the mind that allows us to think things through and make decisions and choices which may impact not only our lives and those we love and our eternal destiny too. It is where we use our creativity and become innovative in our thinking and thereby enhance our lifestyle. This is why it is so important we guard what and who we allow to have access to our minds and especially the minds of our children.

We treat that which we see, hear and learn with such irreverence. We sometimes allow anyone with any message access to our mind which will ultimately determine our choice and in the end our destiny. If our minds and our children’s minds are exposed to any type of offensive thoughts or things that amuse and distract, this may cause the mind to become dull in our thinking. This will hinder the innovative and creative way of thinking God placed in us.

Any muscle, if it is not used or exercised, will deteriorate. So it is with the creative, innovative part of who we are. If our minds are constantly amused with someone else’s ideas and dreams, we will not have time to cultivate our own dreams and visions. Our created purpose, the reason God placed us on the earth, will not emerge or occur because we fail to take time to be creative, innovative to think outside the norm. Innovation is something that needs developing and cultivating; which is why there is so much pressure on our time to keep us away from the gift God has placed inside.

Any fruit will die on the vine if not used and so will our innovative unused potential die on the vine of our unfulfilled purpose. Every farmer knows in each seed there is a future harvest of that one seed and there is an ability of the seed to multiply and to bring forth much fruit. However, there is a process of sowing and reaping that must take place prior to any harvest of success. Just as God has placed His seed inside each of us, this potential must be sowed and cultivated in good soil to produce a harvest. God promised, as long as the earth remains, there will be seed time and harvest time. It is up to us to plant the seed so we may receive our harvest.

Genesis 8:22   While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease. NKJV

So, what is innovation? True innovation is looking at old ways, things or problems with a new insight, different way or perspective; to introduce new or alternate ways of approaching needs, problems, and concerns. As Solomon indicated, there is nothing new under the sun, so everything that is and everything that ever will be are things that exist now, just in raw or different forms. The only difference in the things today and a century ago is the combination in which these things were put together and the way they are viewed.

Innovators must look at old things with a different and new view. We need eyes that look for solutions and alternatives rather than focusing on the problems and the history of past failures. The key to innovation is taking time to stop all activities, to do nothing and to allow the mind to be free to create and to think “outside the box.” This sounds easy, but our minds have been trained and taught to stay within the lines, or to follow old familiar rules thus stifling our innovation.

Most of us are so tired from work, making a living, providing for family and making ends meet, that we do not have time to think about anything else, least of all, time to let our minds ponder in the presence of our Creator.

Society today tells us we need to start our children on this competitive road where they are so busy with education, music and sports, etc., so they do not have time to dream and be creative. We should have enough balance to allow our children to learn, be active and still have time to dream and listen to God. In past times people would say what they dream they would be but now children are not given the opportunity to dream and to be innovative thinkers. They are taught to get a job and make money and some are even taught to obtain it at all costs, even at the expense of character, honesty and integrity.

What a lie we have been told? What a bill of goods we have been sold? That we will never make it or that we are not smart enough to be innovative. Yet, God has created us in His image and put in us the ability to do good works. Now it comes down to whose voice will we listen to. We have the same choice Adam and Eve had, to listen and believe we are created in God’s likeness or be bamboozled and hoodwinked into seeing ourselves less than what our Creator has made us to be. To rebel against God’s word is allowing His enemy to rule over our lives, our thoughts even our potential to succeed or fail.

Genesis 1:26-28 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all[b] the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Everything we need to solve the problems of today and in the future is here in the present. It takes innovative thinking to take old or raw materials to combine them in such a fashion that the results are new inventions or solutions to problems. God created man to be like Him in character, loving kindness and faithfulness. When our character has been tested and proven to be godly, He then can trust us with dominion. When we line up with our created identity in God, then we are able to multiply and be successful with the gifts He has given.

How we cultivate these gifts with innovation and creativity, will determine our success.   God said our gifts will make room for us and bring us before great men. As believers in Christ we have hope in our situations to overcome poverty or being an outcast able to come out of our pit of despair when our hearts and minds are filled with the knowledge of God and His creative purpose we are able to persevere. With God we are able to cultivate our gifts to fulfill our purpose and this will bring us before great men.

Proverbs 18:16           A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men. NKJV

Remember we should discipline our minds and teach our children how to rest, to think and to meditate so they may be innovative. This is done by setting aside time to do nothing but to think and to ponder those things that cause passion in our lives. God will use our passion, for those things that may cause us pain, outrage and even anger at the injustices for the marginal, neglected and underprivileged, to help bring kindness, change and to cultivate a compassion for people which will move us into action.

Deuteronomy 8:18   And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. NKJV

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A Creative Mind – A Terrible Thing To Waste

Every person was created for greatness, with a purpose and the ability to succeed in life. We all have the innate, instinctive, unconscious, God given ability to be innovative, to create new and original things. That is Who God Elohim is, a creator and He is so innovative He never makes anything the same. Every bird, every fish, and every man even every snowflake is different from one another. God is a God of innovation and diversity and He has placed these abilities deep into the very fiber of mankind to reflect His image on the earth.

God’s enemy wants to destroy the creativeness that we have and the very things that reflect God our creator. The enemy tries to have us fear and hate what is not like us or we do not understand, instead of celebrating our differences. We are taught to hate and to have disdain for those unlike us, rather than seeing The Creator-Elohim and His likeness in everyone.

The enemy of God has strategically set up processes on the earth to hinder our ability to think creatively and innovatively. He has also tactically set up practices that are designed to destroy our appreciation for diversity or things that are different. Yet this is the substance of Who God is and who we are, our created purpose. We cannot look at nature or the heavens without seeing God’s innovation and love for variety. He made every person with different eyes, fingerprints, DNA and every flower with a different pattern, nothing is made the same. He finds pleasure in creativeness, innovation and diversity.

Young children who have not been taught to hate or who have not had their thoughts consumed with fear are able to look at things differently. They see life with eyes of hope and great expectations and have not been marred by doubt and hate. Without biases or ideas of limitations and of what cannot be done we are able to dream of doing great things.

Luke 18:16-17            But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.  Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” NKJV

We must guard our children’s minds when they are still very impressionable. The enemy will have people to try and fill their minds to destroy the creativeness which God gave to them and leave them without hope for themselves or their future. The enemy will try and instill in young people his ideas of hate and destructive ways. Amusement is used to keep our minds so busy that we cannot think, dream or be creative.

God knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us, to give us hope for our future. God gives us the ability to get wealth, to be successful and He gives us these abilities in thought and creativity. This may be hard to comprehend, with situations that appear dire and hopeless but God tells us to not lose hope, every problem mankind has faced God has provided a way of escape. Every invention, every solution, every machine or new technology came from someone’s mind, their creative thought process. That is why the enemy of God would rather we be distracted or amuse our minds so we cannot listen and hear the creativeness each of us has inside of us.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

To amuse is to hold someone’s attention, to entertain, or divert their thoughts, to cause time to pass or to distract. What a plan and trap our enemy has laid to get us distracted from God’s word. To divert our creative thoughts by using distractions such as telephones, televisions, music, movies or just uninspired people to devour our time, thoughts and talents so we are unable to fulfill our created purpose. What a waste!!

We are told to be still and know that He is God. We are told to rest in Him, to believe that He is and He is a rewarder of those who trust Him.

Psalm 46: 10-11         Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

Deuteronomy 8:18   And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. NKJV

We are spirit beings living in a human body and we have a soul and every part of us was created to commune with God our Creator. Our purpose is to imitate our Creator and to establish His promises on the earth with the wealth He has given us. The only way we will be able to accomplish this is by listening and communing with God so we may receive the visions and dreams He has put in us.

Everyone has a created purpose to fulfill something that is needed or will benefit mankind in their lifetime. How many songs, paintings, inventions and solutions to problems we have lost and missed all because the enemy distracted these people from pursuing their dream, their vision, their purpose.

Let us challenge ourselves, our children, our families and friends to seek our created purpose to fulfill the vision God has placed inside us. It is never too late for us to see things differently and do things differently. All it takes is a choice to listen to God and not the voice of this world. We should turn away from the amusement and distractions of the noise of those things that steal our time and creativeness. We should give ourselves and our children, time to think, to ponder and to create new solutions to old problems.

As parents we should be doers of the word and not hearers only. We should deny ourselves some of the things we think we want or deserve to provide time for our children; the time they need to develop their minds, creative and innovative ideas. We are to shut down all the amusement, diversions and distractions to cultivate time to think, to meditate on the word of God. God has promised to direct our steps, to be a light and a lamp for us. It is never too late to be creative and to fulfill our purpose. Less we forget, Moses was eighty when God called him into his purpose and 120 when he completed it.

 

James 1:22     But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

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Two Masters- God and Money

 

There is room for only one to sit on the throne of man’s heart. What we worship reveals who is enthroned as lord and master of our life. Jesus identified the two sources that will eventually become our master. What He said is true, no man can serve two masters, he will love one and hate the other, and we cannot serve God and money. No one can serve God and riches.

Matthew 6: 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

In this life we have a choice of one or two masters, God or money. We will serve only one and disregard the other though we may engage them both. Sometime we can be pleasantly engaging with God and money. It is in a crisis situation that reveals in which one we place our trust. In one of these two things we will put our trust and our hope for the future.

When self is on the throne of our heart then we are motivated to do what it takes to indulge and please self. Our first inclination is to go with what we believe will help us with self- preservation and most times that is money. When self is on the throne, then money becomes our master, because it is money that allows us to satisfy all the appetites of self-indulgence. Money allows us to indulge self in all that it wants to rule and to reign in our world.

How we use money speaks to where our hope lies and what we value most in this life and will determine how we will spend eternity. If this is the only life we have hope for, let us eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die and if this life is the only thing we have hope in, we are all men most miserable.

1 Corinthians 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

Many of us acknowledge God and want to accept Jesus as our Saviour because we do not want to go to hell, but we want to refuse Him as our Master and Lord. We want Jesus to save us but we do not want Him to be our Master and dictate how we should live our lives. We want self to sit on that throne so we can decide how we will live our lives, spend our time and money.

If we choose God then we must let the love of money go. Money can no longer be our motivation in this life. That is one of the most difficult things for man to accept because he has been taught that money is the most important thing.

For God to be on the throne of our lives, we must die to self. This is a hard concept for most people to understand and live out. We must have a renewed mind to His ways and let His word navigate us through life’s situations and our responses. The world will think our actions are strange and may even be offensive to them because they do not know God’s ways.

John 12:24-26                     Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

1Peter 2:7-8               Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,”  and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

God does not want us in poverty. He wants to give us exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ask or think. He wants us to be the example of His goodness in this world but He does not want us going after money and the riches of this world. God want us to choose Him over every situation and circumstance and it is a hard choice but it speaks to what or who has preeminence over our lives. The enemy comes to kill, steal and destroy people and then blame God for it.

John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

If we put our trust in money, it becomes our lord, and then it dictates our responses to problems and in crisis situations. We will do all we can to hold on to money or get money even if it means being dishonest, lying or stealing. Many people believe in Jesus but they do not put their trust in Jesus. They want Him to save them for all eternity but cannot trust Him to keep them and their families’ safe in this world. There are so many who are neither hot nor cold, they want to keep a foot in both camps; to live anyway they want right now. In the end they will cry Lord, Lord but He will not know them.

Revelation 3: 15-17   I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. 16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

Each and every one of us was given life in this world for a God given purpose. We have an enemy who wants to prevent us from fulfilling those purposes. This world will miss out on the contributions God has placed in us, if we choose not to live the life God has purposed for us. Life sometimes gets so busy that we do not think about ultimate purpose. We sometimes lose sight of God’s plan and how we impact eternity for ourselves and others.

If we were on a battlefield and our enemy would have us so preoccupied with insignificant things such as putting up a tent or making a campfire, we would never have time to stop and plan or strategize on how to win the battle. So it is with life as we go through the motions of living without thinking, without planning and without understanding our purpose.

Revelation 3:17,20                  Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked-                                                                                               

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Some practices have been in place for so long we can barely recall a time in life when we were committed to principles and valued morals more than money. There was a time when we would not forsake our integrity for the lucrative business of making money at the cost of our integrity. We valued the honor of God more than the riches of this world.

People are going after, riches, success and the temporary things of this world. They lose sight of the eternal and everlasting things of God- the souls of men. What will it profit to gain the whole world for 60, 70, 80 or even 90 years and spend everlasting eternity in hell? That Sir is no bargain, when people perish because they choose money and pleasure of this world over God.

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Fear – The True Reason for Hate

Gandhi stated “The enemy is fear. We think it is hate, but it is fear.” People are naturally afraid of the unknown, what they know nothing about. It is what is different from our norm and possible change that create fear in us, things that may impact our lives, our family, and our income that causes us to be afraid. It is human nature for self to be the most important thing and those things that belong to us.

A constant state of fear speaks to what we truly believe, trust and have hope in. Our reaction to the things that are making us fearful says volumes about what or whom we hold in high esteem. If we are more afraid of losing our friends, our job or our income more than our desire to honor God, then we will compromise our values, our morals our character. It is the fear of not knowing and the fear of our loss that causes panic.

Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The differences, in people who place their hope in the world and the people who place their hope in God, are their perspective and response to problems. Those who are without God in this world focus on themselves, their lack and their inability to change their circumstances. They are without hope and all they know is fear and hate to move towards destruction because they do not know any other way. We see fear produce hate that causes people to attack or destroy other people, communities, even nations, just to take what think they need to live. The end justifies their means and their survival is the ultimate end, so by any means necessary they will obtain it. The people of God trust Him to provide, protect and direct their lives. Their hope is in their Creator and Almighty God Who can and will meet all their needs.

This spirit of hopelessness leaves people in a state of despair. They have no reason to try because they believe things will never get better. All they see is lack, hurt, loss and pain. When people are without hope they start looking for anything that can get them out of that bad situation. They will walk away from a hard job or difficult relationships because all they see is the bleakness of the situation and they have no hope of it getting any better. People without hope will try and do strange things even check out on life whether it is physical or mental.

1 Peter 1:21 Who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Those who trust God can look at a crisis and know they will do well because the God they serve has promised to be with them in their storm. There are a lot of people who say they believe in God but it is another story to say they trust God. This is where perspective and response differ. Those who know their God will do well in crisis because they will say what God says about the matter. We learn how to be still in darkness because God has promised day will come after night, He will turn our mourning into joy.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls—Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God[c] is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. NKJV

Those who trust God will wait on the Lord to see how He will settle the matter rather than respond in fear. We esteem pleasing our King and Sovereign Lord more important than the praises or curses of men. Kingdom people will seek the Favour of their Lord and King more than riches or the threats of this world.

Daniel 11:32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.

Fear is the weapon the enemy uses against those created in the very image of God to get them to destroy themselves. It is fear of deficiency that makes people hate those who threaten their ability to get ahead and live successfully. Hate is only the result of self-centeredness, self- reliance and self-preservation. The natural man will operate out of his fallen nature to kill, steal and destroy anything and everything that hinders his lifestyle or progress. But those that know God’s word and trust in Him can be patient, longsuffering and persevere through difficult times because we know in whom we believe and know He is able to keep us in these difficult times.

2Timothy1:12  For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.

We all have been dealt a hand that appears to most, life is stacked against us. But God is there, no matter what the challenge, problem or hindrance, because Jesus has provided for us a way to win with the hand we have been dealt. Life becomes the sum of our choices and what we allow to direct our decisions and choices will dictate our outcome. Everyone must choose where they will put their trust. Everyone has the option to choose life or death. But most people make life choices out of habit, family tradition and social customs. They choose out of ignorance and lack of knowledge of God’s word. Not understanding they have an adversary who is like a lion seeking to see whom he may destroy. This is his tactic, fear and hate opens the door and gives him permission to devour homes, families, communities, even nations.

Deuteronomy 30:19- 20

I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”

1Peter5:8 Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

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A Life in Crisis

A major crisis or catastrophic situation will only reveal character. It does not develop bad character or force us to do hideous and gruesome acts; crisis only exposes what is already in us.

A crisis is a period, point or phase in a process or a sequence of events, which impacts our general course or direction of future events for better or worse; it is a turning point. We live in a world of continuous crisis and our lives are in a state of endless and constant change.

A crisis is about change; it is about revealing what is weak or strong in a particular situation. A crisis can be a catalyst for a new beginnings or new life phases. A crisis may lead us to a different end than we had originally anticipated. We call a crisis a problem but in the Asian language they call it an opportunity for change.

How we respond in a crisis is vital to the outcome of our success or failure in life and ultimately in the fulfilling of our purpose. A crisis is only change. It is only an opportunity for God to use the sequences of events to uproot the dead and destructive things that are in our lives. This will give space for those things that need to grow and to have time for them to develop and mature. God can use a crisis as a method of operation, to make change. He will use the crisis in our lives as an opportunity to grow us and bless us, it depends on our response. When a crisis comes it is usually for one person but it could influence whole families, communities even a nation. It can be the vehicle God uses to make change, to bless and even move people and nations forward.

God does not create the crisis; it usually comes as a result of our everyday decisions or acts that lead to a consequence that provokes a crisis. Crisis can bring change and change is a natural sequence of events that happen, everything changes, nothing remains the same. We see it in nature and we see it in life. God can use these crises as a method of displaying His wisdom and Almighty power to the world. We have often seen crisis turn situations upside down. People from high and haughty positions are sometimes humbled while others from low and obscure birth are put in places of distinction. If we understand God’s ways, we will be able to stand firm in times of our crisis and adversity.

Genesis39: 1-2 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

 

Joseph was shown that one day he would rule a nation and all the people would bow down to him. Then his life went into what we would call a major crisis. He was sold to a caravan that took him to Egypt, where he learned the customs and language of the Egyptians. He was brought as a slave to work for an officer, the captain of the guard, where he learned how lead the army and military in Egypt.

Genesis 39: 20-23 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.

Joseph was thrown into prison for something he did not do but it is where he learned the operation of the palace and the country. There he met the man that would introduce him to Pharaoh the king over all Egypt and the one who would ultimately set him free. All of these situations were major crises in Joseph’s life. He could have chosen to be angry with God for allowing those things to happen to him but he did not. Joseph worked in integrity with character and represented His God well in adverse situations and under horrible circumstances. In all these problems, God used these crises to prepare Joseph for his future, to save a nation and his family. It was during these crises Joseph learned the language, culture, political and economic systems of Egypt and to become a ruler in the country.

Genesis 41: 39-41 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”  And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Joseph did not let his circumstances change him or provoke him to act in a way that was unlike himself or his God. The jailer did not concern himself with the running of the jail because Joseph had proven himself faithful in the small things, a man of integrity and he could be trusted with more responsibilities.

A crisis is a time that reveals character and one’s true beliefs; it reveals who we are and what we trust and if we really believe God is able to do what He said He would. When the world is in a crisis people stop giving, they are no longer charitable, they begin to hoard what they have because they think there is a shortage in their supply. Their source of comfort, their job, their bank, their relationships are no longer able to sustain them. Their trusts are in the things of this world and not God.

Matthew 25:23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

When worldly people are in a crisis, they begin to compromise their values, morals and commitments to their character. Self-preservation is the first instinct of a fallen man who does not trust in God. It is in a crisis where we see people lie, kill, steal and destroy, in order to save self. Their main thought is for self, and how to survive no matter the cost.

Those whose hope is in the Lord and believe His word, they know God will provide and protect them. God has promised to never leave us or forsake us and if we believe, have faith and hope in Him we can go through the crisis knowing He who promised is able.

Above all, those who hope is in God are willing to die to self that God may be glorified. This is the true test of faith the willingness to lay down our pride, our interest, our preference for the ultimate good of others. Jesus was our example He showed us and taught that we should not love our lives more than God. We are to be willing to lay down our rights for God. This is a hard statement and it only comes when we have total trust in God and His faithfulness to protect and provide for us. It is when we are ready to surrender our rights and our partialities for God; we are ready to live for Him. Only when a grain of wheat dies will it produce a harvest, if not, it will remain the same and stand-alone.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.

John 16: 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will[d] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Matthew 28:20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen

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Hope For The Future!

     Hope is fear in reverse. To hope is to look forward to something with desire and confidence, to believe in a person with whom our expectations are centered. Fear is the dread of the unknown and we panic and become fearful when we do not know what will happen in the future. To those who have trusted in the finished work of Christ, God has told us how the story ends, we will win! We have hope for the future in this life and eternity. We do not have to faint at adversity because we are blessed and favored of God; we can persevere and go through whatever life gives because we know we will succeed in the end.

Our faith gives us hope for our future and this hope causes us to make plans with confidence to face our present situation, no matter how dire it may appear. We know we will succeed because of God’s word that assures us and gives us hope of a better future. This hope is what gives us confidence to face our future. Jesus endured the cross while despising the shame, He had confidence and joy in knowing how it would end. Although He despised the shame and agony of the crucifixion, He knew it was temporary; Jesus was able to have joy knowing He would bring many into the family of God.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NKJV

 

When we know and have a relationship with the true and living God, we can go through the temporary setbacks and attacks that life throws at us. No matter how bad the circumstances may look, and though all odds and facts may appear to be against us, we know God is steadfast and faithful to His word.

Our hope is in the power of God, His ability and His promises for our success in life. We are no longer dependent on what we can or cannot do; our trust is no longer in ourselves. We now have hope for our future in God and He is able, and He will perform His word. The Love God has for us was displayed when His Son Jesus laid His life down for us while we were still sinners. There is no greater love that a man may have than to lay his life down for a friend. Jesus did that for us and we now have confidence and hope for our future in this life. This is not just a hope in the sweet by and by, when we all go to heaven, it is a promise for such a time as this. Sometimes we need help right now and God’s word is our help, strength, our strong tower where we can run and be safe.

Psalm 27:3 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

 

Jesus is our example and Abraham is called the father of faith. Abraham did not hesitate but believed totally in the promise of God. Though he was a man who missed the mark on several occasions, he did not focus on his past failures. Nor did he dwell on the decay of his present situation, his age or the age of Sarah. Circumstances did not cause him to falter or quiver at God’s promise. This is our hope, not in what we have or have not done, but hope is in the God who promised us victory. God is faithful to His word and in that we are strengthened in faith to give glory to God for He is able to perform all He has promised.

Romans 4:20-25 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification. NKJV

 

When we really know the word and love of God then we are able to serve and believe in His word. We then have the confidence and are convinced He is able to do what He has promised. No one or nothing life throws at us can persuade us to think differently. Our hope for tomorrow, for our life, for our children for our future is God! His word is sure so we may pursue with confidence those things which we were called and to fulfill our purpose. God wants to be the most important person in our lives and He promises to be a rewarder to those who diligently seek Him. We will have situations that will give us opportunity to display our faith in God and His promises or to give in to doubt and not see it through. The choice is ours to stand in faith or fall in unbelief.

Hebrew 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

 

It is the knowledge of God’s word that gives us confidence and the hope to be successful in this life. Hope gives us something to consider and to believe. Once we know the word and believe the word of God is truth we will learn He is faithful to His word. We will express this belief with our spoken words, our confession and our actions. We will say the same words God says, with excitement and expectation, giving thanks to God even before the promise has manifested itself in our natural circumstances. We will thank and praise God just as Abraham did, with confidence and great joy, when he was given the promise of Isaac long before he was conceived or born.

2 Timothy 1:8a, 12     Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord…

For this reason, I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day NKJV

 

Many people are living without hope of a decent future, without hope of how they will live. Many wonder how they will survive their destructive families, communities and their own personal life style. So many young people are taking their lives and the lives of others because they believe they have nothing to live for or they have no hope of things ever getting better. People are living without true hope, the hope that comes from the word of God. So many young people are giving up on life at an increasingly high rate and at a very alarmingly young age only because no one has given them hope for their future.

Proverbs 13: 12          Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.  

 

We must give people hope for today, that hope is in the true and living God who will help right now, and not when they have died and gone to heaven. God says He knows the thoughts He has toward us; thoughts of peace, hope and a good future. We can have hope in our future and have strength to continue because we believe in the word of God. This is not based on our own actions, works or our families place in society. God tells us to talk to Him, He will listen and if we seek after Him, we will find Him. He is a God who loves us so much that He sent us help, His Son Jesus, who came to do what we could not do for ourselves.

Jeremiah 29: 11-14a for I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord… NKJV

 

The world would tell us we cannot make it, we are not from the right school, the right part of town, right social or economic community or that we are of the wrong race, ethnic group, and gender. The world will look at our past and will try to hold us back from being successful. The world will try to tell us God has forsaken us and we have no hope of making it in life. God says those who appear to be weak are the ones He has chosen to do great things. It is the thief that plants seeds of doubt to steal our hope, kill our dreams and destroy our future. However, he can only do it if we allow him. Jesus rescued us from a life of devastation and saved us from eternal destruction. He paid our sin bill and purchased for us an abundant life.

 

1 Corinthians 1:27     but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are.

 

John 10:10    The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. NKJV

 

Our lives come down to the choices we make regarding who we allow to influence our lives. We may choose to believe the thief, who is good at beguiling, lying, and planting seeds of doubt so we will blame God for all the wrong things that happen in our lives. We have another choice, to trust in God’s word and believe in the hope He has set before us. He has given us the victory; we will win in this life if we do not faint. We may have the abundant life now where we are but we must choose it. We must choose love, peace and forgiveness.

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit NKJV

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Plans Are The Ultimate Acts Of Faith.

PLANS ARE THE ULTIMATE ACTS OF FAITH

 

God gives us important and vital truths about Himself and then He tells us how to live in light of those truths so that we and our families may live the abundant life. God tells us to hear and listen, that the Lord our God is one, there is none other. We are to love the Lord with all our hearts, souls and strength and keep this in our hearts. This is a vital truth for us to understand and we must teach this to our children. There is One God who is the true and living God. He is revealed in three persons and personalities, but they are one in Spirit, Mind and Action.

Deuteronomy 6: 4-9   Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God even gives direction on how we are to communicate these truths to our families. We are to talk to them about God when we are sitting around in the house, talk to them about God when we go walking outside, talk to them about God when we are lying down and when we get up. We should give our families writings, drawings, songs anything that can be set before them to show them to show God and His word is all around them. This is an everyday commitment to show our families and training them as well as ourselves about the mind and heart of God and His ways. It is not just a Sunday and mid-week ritual.

Exodus 17:14 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

We all make plans but not all our plans are written but when we write things down they becomes a memorial or a tribute to what we believe will happen. The same principle applies with teaching our families about God. The things we give them are something that we can refer to and celebrate those specific moments or ideas God gave to us when they are written. When God gives us a promise and we believe in this promise, we will start taking steps and action to help us move toward that promise. This is how plans become the ultimate acts of faith. The plans we make and the actions we take show that we believe the promise will happen. Our plans and designs will help move us closer to the outcome or the promise we will receive from God.

A very wise man once said, “The weakest ink is better than the strongest memory.” We write down the things that are important and we want to remember, it helps to engrain those thoughts into our minds. It is more than just a thought that may fade, it is a documented point something we can look forward to and when it is done we may refer back to see the faithfulness of God. Faith without some type of plan or action expressing it is just a distant dream or idea. It does not move into reality without a plan. Faith without works is dead.

James 2:18-20 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?

Some people will say “Oh I believe in God!” yet, they do not take any actions toward their belief in God’s word. They may speak it because they have head knowledge of God and they may think that is sufficient. The Bible says demons believe in God and they tremble! Because they know God and His word is truth. They know what God has promised will be their end so they tremble at the thought of Him. We should believe and respond with actions related to the knowledge and promises we receive from God. To say we have faith and do nothing is no faith at all. Because we are do nothing to give energy to what we believe that faith has no life and is dead.

The book of Habakkuk God shows us an example on how we are to operate in faith when He spoke of His promise to avenge Israel from their enemies. God told Habakkuk to write the vision and make it plain on tables. God wants us to be able to go back to His word when the world and people attack or speak against God’s promise. With a written vision we will have a plan or process we may look at and refer to that will help us when the world tries to get us off course and to give up on God’s purpose for our lives.

The vision should be simple and plain so that anyone who believes and reads it so they may run with it. Anyone that takes God’s word as truth and moves toward that truth may believe no matter what problems we face, God has spoken it. Though it may linger or may be delayed we are told to preserve. God tells us to wait for it, for it will surely come, and once it begins it will come and it will not hesitate. God’s plans are for an appointed time. Only He knows the timing but we can be confident of the action and the outcome according to His word.

Habakkuk 2: 2-3 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.  For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

God is our example of how we should act. We were created in His image to look and to act like Him. God writes those things that are important to Him. In Malachi it says, God listens to the people who respect, fear and revere Him and those who speak to each other about God. God has a book written to remember all those who fear Him and think on His name. What a revelation! God actually takes time to listen to our conversations when we talk to one another about Him. He not only listens but He writes then down so they can be remembered as a testimony. Just as He instructed us to write the vision and make it plain, He documents those things, which are important. He has given us His written word, the Bible.

Malachi 3:16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.

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From Belief to Faith

How do we turn our belief into faith and develop a faith that will take us through the most difficult times in our lives with a peace that surpasses understanding? The process is shown to us in the steps we go through for salvation in Romans 10. If we believe in our heart, (what God said), and confess it with our mouth, (God’s Word), we will be saved. We are saved by our faith and trust in God, we believe with a firm commitment in our hearts God’s truth and we display this assurance by the confession we speak with our mouth and the actions we exhibit in the world.

The first step of faith is to hear God’s word. Once we have heard the word we make a choice of our will to believe it or reject it. Remember true belief is to have confidence, full trust and reliability of a person or thing though it may be without absolute proof. Trusting in God becomes is confirmed in our loyalty and obligation to Him. We believe right it leads to right thinking, which leads to right actions.

Romans 10:14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?

The word preacher comes from a Greek word that is translated kerusso; to herald a royal command, to proclaim publicly a divine truth. This is the responsibility of everyone who professes Christ as their Lord and Savior, to publicly proclaim truth. To announce God, the truth of Who He is in our lives and to tell all He has done in us and through us. How shall they hear without someone telling them about the goodness and loving kindness of God?

We all should ask ourselves these questions. How can people call on God when they do not believe in God? How do people learn to believe in God when they have not even heard of God? How can they hear about God if we do not testify about what He has done in our lives? How many people do not believe in God because those who call themselves Christians fail to speak about Him and all God has done in our lives? This is a sobering thought, to think someone may have been saved if we had taken time and courage to speak the truth of God to him or her.

Romans 10:6a, 8-10, 13 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way…

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. NKJV

The word heart comes from a Greek word translated as kardia that speaks of the thoughts, feelings and mind of a person. It is not speaking of the organ that beats in our chest but the innermost or center part of our being, which is our intellect; it is the very process of our choice and our will.

When the word of God is given to us, or when the word of God is seen (read) or heard (taught), we may choose to accept it as truth and believe it or reject it. We make this choice every time a principle or precept of God’s is spoken to us. The heart of our mind, at that moment, chooses to believe the Light of God’s word to believe or not. .

When we choose to believe the truth, our belief in God’s word is confirmed by us speaking the very truth we heard. Our spoken confession of agreement with God’s word is established in our heart with that very declaration. Our tongue is the pen that writes on our heart the good things our Lord and King has arranged for us, and this gives us overflowing hope on matters that are before us.

Psalms 45: 1 My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.

What we believe in our hearts becomes what we speak. The righteousness of faith speaks this way; it says what God says about the matter. The word righteous speaks of those who are placed in right standing with God through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. We are made righteous by His acts alone and our belief in Him places us into a right position in the family of God. Therefore, those who are believers in Jesus speak this way; they confess, declare and acknowledge with their mouth, that Jesus is their Lord, to whom they will obey. They believe He is the risen Son of God. By this acknowledgement of God’s truth and with the confession and declaration of our belief, we are made righteous, in right standing and are saved by God.

Many people want to believe but stay silent without making a confession. Anyone in love will want to make known their love to the person of their affection. If we do not express our love then it is only a dream. It becomes part of our reality when we take a chance and declare our commitment to this love. We must understand this world was created by the power of words spoken in faith. It is the act of the public expression of faith that brings redemption back into our world and it is that belief that put us in right standing with God.

Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. NKJV

Belief turns to faith when we take that belief and put action with it. We may believe in our hearts a thing is true but we cultivate our faith when we express it through actions and then acknowledge it to the entire world both the seen and the unseen world. We then have declared the position on which we stand and it operates in every detail of our lives and how we live life

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A famous woman once said,” people will tell you what they really think, if you listen, really listen to what they are saying.” The word of God tells us we can tell the type of heart a person has by listening to the words they speak. It is important to listen as well as watch. People can change their actions for a short time but what is buried in their hearts comes through the very wellspring of their being through their words and eventually their behavior.

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life

Faith is not only speaking what we believe in our heart but faith is putting into action what we believe. When we start planning for a vacation, we believe we are taking, we begin preparing for it. Faith is the motion we put in place as the result of our belief. If we believe we are going on vacation to the beach, we start planning to take time off from work, we pack our suitcase and we bring our swimming suit. These actions are faith actions preparing for what we believe will happen. The same is with faith in God’s word, we start preparing for what we believe will occur. Belief is moved into faith by the actions we take toward the end result. It is the hope we have for what will happen in our future.

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Our Belief Systems Dictate Our Outcome

Believing in God is more than an intellectual knowledge of God. It is more than an intellectual climb to attain information about God. People will say they believe in something but what they mean is they may have a knowledge that it exists but not a commitment to fully trust in that person or thing. One of the enemy’s tactics is to get people confused about God’s Word and His truth by distorting or changing our understanding of the true meaning of words. This is done to confuse us in our reading and understanding of truth with a confused or different meaning from the original text.

To have knowledge of something in one’s mind is different than having a belief or a conviction of the soul and spirit, to be committed to that belief. Knowledge of a thing shows the receipt of information or data. True belief by definition is to have confidence, which is full trust or reliability of a person, and assurance in the truth, existence, reliability of that person or thing. Though it may be without absolute proof, your believing is the faith, the confidence or trust in a person, and becomes an obligation of loyalty to that person.

The only thing that was required of Adam was to believe and obey God’s Word of Truth. God told man that he was created in His likeness and the day he ate of the tree of knowledge he would die. The world system gives different meaning to life so to confuse people in knowing good from evil. Adam’s action to eat the fruit God told him not to eat reflected Adam’s choice to obey and listen to the enemy rather than God.

Because man obeyed Satan man became a servant and under Satan’s authority and rule. God was no longer the Sovereign King of man. God is true to His Word and He will not violate His word. Nor will God violate man’s will or his ability to choose to have another ruler over him. God could not void man’s choice and be faithful to His word. Most of us would ask, why did God allow this to happen? If God loved us, He would not let that happen or if He were all-powerful, He would stop Satan.

 

It was the love God had for man that gave man the ability to choose and God’s faithfulness to His word that restrained Him from stepping in and void the results of man’s choice. God showed His love for man by allowing him a choice and not making him a robot. God’s love, mercy and grace are seen in God providing man a Saviour. God’s faithfulness to His word is displayed in His restraint in not interfering with man’s choice but to remain true to His word to give them, dominion over the things in the earth.

Genesis 2: 16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Absolute power without rules of order and integrity will lead to brutality and mayhem. God’s word is His rule of order. He cannot and will not violate His word even at the great cost of losing mankind to rebellion and knowing the choice would destroy man in his created state. God is a God of integrity and principle and we are created to be like Him, in our life choices, to hold true to our word with integrity. An example of this is shown in Daniel. The king made a law and once a law was established the king himself could not alter or change the law. The king himself had to abide by the law that was implemented. Daniel was a man the king respected but the integrity of his word could not be violated, even at the cost of throwing Daniel into the lion’s den. This was done to keep the integrity of an earthly king’s law. It is much more important for the God of the universe to protect and keep His word!

God is not a man and He cannot lie, He must hold true to His word no matter the cost. Just as Daniel had to go into the lion’s den to protect the integrity of the king, God had to allow man a choice to hold true to His integrity. God brought Daniel out of the lion’s den just as God has provided a plan for man to be redeemed. God decided to pay the penalty for man’s rebellion and die in his stead. God provided man with another chance, to choose life rather than death to accept Jesus as their payment for sin.

Numbers 23:1 God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

The rebellion of Adam and Eve allowed Satan to have dominion over this world system for a season. The very dominion God had given to mankind was turned over to Satan and this is why there is such hate, death and destruction in the world today. Satan comes to kill, steal and destroy man- the object of God’s love and affection the very one created in His image.

Jesus came, paid the penalty for man’s rebellion and returned the Kingdom of Heaven back to the earth and now we are able to become citizens of this kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God was made available to all who believe in His Son. Now there are two kingdoms in operation on earth trying to advance its kingdom influence in the world, the fallen kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of God which bringing the light of truth. We still have to choose, in this life, which we will serve, the true King or the father of lies and our choice will be reflected in our actions. We have the same choice Adam and Eve had a choice that will display to the world who we are listening to and obeying, the truth of God or the lies of Satan.

Knowledge is only information; it is data we have on a subject, person or thing. Belief, however, is a commitment to a person or thing. It is having faith, belief and commitment that the person is all they said they are, even if there are no substantial proofs showing we are right. This is why believing in Jesus takes faith, not just to know Him, but to trust Him. Faith believes He is God and is committed to trust Him in the face of dark circumstances. We may be unable to produce, to the satisfaction of sceptics, the evidences they want us to produce but we believe that He is and He is able and will keep His promises. Our faith and the way we live with integrity is a testament of God, His power and what He can do with a simple life that is lived for Him. A life well lived points to God’s divine strength helping us to live a life of forgiveness and love which is only by the power of God’s grace and mercy.

Right believing leads to right thinking, which leads to right actions and this is what God wants for His people. When we know how much God loves us and all He has done just for us to succeed, our action would line up with what is true out of gratitude. We will want to do what brings honor and pleasure to our God. Loving children want to bring honor to their parents who have loved and given for their wellbeing. We as children of the Most High Kings should want to bring honor to our Heavenly Father. We do this by the choices we make in our daily lives to trust God and to show His love to an undeserving world.

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