LIVE FAITH

Well, it’s my experience that most people don’t really want to hear the truth.  They don’t mind the truth as long as it’s for someone else.  Or as long as they can just listen to it.  They will nod their heads and mentally agree.  You see we read scriptures, we hear the voice of God, what some would call our conscience, we hear messages on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights.  All of these things call us to some sort of action.  Are we going to act on that scripture we just read, obey the voice we just heard, do something about that message we just got?  Maybe…. Just maybe.

Well, I just learned something that others may already know.  It was like a lightning bolt for me and it all came from a statement my pastor made this Sunday.  He said Faith is ACTING on what you believe.  Here I am, all these years, thinking that faith was believing.   I would think,  before I do this, or before I try and do that,  I must make sure that I have enough faith so I don’t fall on my face, thinking I have faith and don’t have it or don’t have enough of it.  

Then I came to understand that  faith is not even realized if there is no action.  The whole meaning of the word implies action.  I never thought of it like that before but it’s the truth.  Remember the scripture that says faith without works is dead being alone? ( James 2:14-26)

So no one ever really explained to me that there were two categories of faith.  There is the Corpse Faith and the Active Faith.  See , corpse faith is like carrying around a dead guy.  He’s useless, it’s just a weight.  There is no life to it.  Yeah, it exists but nothing good can come from it.  Nothing live or tangible can come from a corpse.  Well, we all have dreams and ambitions and things we’re going to do “someday.”  Well, if you're carrying those dreams around in your head, planning and re-planning or fantasizing about the end result of your dream,  and no one has ever told you- then I’m here to tell you, your dreams are dead.  They are a corpse you are carrying around and it’s dead weight.  If you don’t actually intend on doing something tangible about those dreams or goals, bury that corpse and don’t dig it up.  Your just kidding yourself and burning up emotional energy that could be better used for another area of your life.  Free up some space to focus on what you can actually ACT on.  Leave the other stuff with the trash because just believing is not faith.  You can believe in a lot of things, doesn’t mean they are going to come to pass. 

See, Faith is believing in what you can not see and then acting as if it's going to be.  Faith starts with  a hope for something in the future.  It’s very similar to setting goals.  What differentiates faith from goals is that goals can be achieved by your abilities, your planning, your discipline and within your control.  When you want something in the future that you don’t currently possess, and the something you want is outside of your abilities, outside of your control, beyond what you can do with your strategic and logical planning, you need help.  You need assistance from someone who has power that you do not possess on your own. 

Now, since God is the source of all power and all power is ordained by him ( Romans 13:1 ),  then we must simply ask God to give us the help we need.  Now you’re starting to move towards live faith. You believe in God, you know he exists,  you know He has power, and now you’re putting your hope in His power.  You’re betting against the odds (because you can’t  see it just yet) that God is going to do it.  So now your praying a little more, you’re just a little more alert, you’re looking for opportunities, waiting for His voice.   Next, something is telling you what you MUST do.  You know you have got to get out of your comfort zone.  Now you’re back to the beginning of the article, are you going to ACT on what you believe? This is the moment of decision, critical mass, the difference between live faith and corpse faith is right here. 

What I’d call mid- faith is right when you’re in the middle of your faith.  You’ve got to get pass all doubts that it’s not going to happen.  You must continue to believe although you still have yet to see your  dream come to pass.  Whether you are going to keep pushing and believing until the end of your faith is a decision you are going to have to make.  We've read the story of Peter stepping out in Faith on the water.  When the winds and waves ( which represent opposition or distraction) begin to mount, we must keep our eyes on the prize and focus. 

A key thing that we often overlook, is that God gets so much pleasure out of this process of Live Faith.  If you don’t have live faith, you can not please God.  (Hebrews 11:6)  However,  if you do have live faith, you have already acknowledged that you need God and your action proves to God that you believe in Him.  If you can prove something to Him, you can bet your bottom dollar, He’s going to prove something to you.  You are going to actually experience what you started out hoping for.  This proves to you that you can indeed trust God. 

So, you took a journey.   It was a trip.  Some trips take longer than others, nevertheless, if you keep pushing forward, you get to your destination.  You started out hoping for something to come to pass, then you started to believe that it could come to pass, but you realized that you weren’t powerful enough to make it happen so you asked God for His help.  You continued to believe that He would help you, so you listened to your heart and you knew what you needed to do and you actually did it.  You gave God so much pleasure by believing in Him that He showed up with His Power and caused your hopes and dreams to be realized. You trust Him even more now and He’s waiting for your next Act.

 

 

 

 

Dear Athiest

Dear Athiest,


I just wanted you to know that I pray for you.  I cry out to God to touch your heart to be able to have a close relationship with our Father as so many have.  We long for you come into the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  It's really not that difficult if you are willing to accept the idea that God has given you something before you were born that He knew would connect you to Him on earth.  Would you like to know what it is?  God has given every person a measure of Faith!  Faith is all you need to know that God  is real  and you already have it! Isn't that cool? 

Now all we have to do is unwrap your faith because it's been boxed up.  It will take a degree of humility, but if you are willing to pray this simple ten second prayer from the heart, it will unlock your faith and start you on the path to a close and intimate relationship with your Father that no one can stop.  The simple prayer is, " True God, if you are real, please reveal yourself to me!"

One of the greatest ways God reveals Himself to us is through His Words.  His words are written in the Bible.  Begin to read the Bible like a person searching for clues to a treasure hunt.  Keep an open heart and mind. 

I would encourage you to say another prayer when you can mean it from your heart.  This prayer will secure your place with God at death.  Since none of us can be absolutely certain of our time of death.  We should pray it by faith now.

"Father, please forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.  I believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for me and rose from the dead on the third day.  Thank you for saving me."

Anytime you enter a new relationship or friendship, you have to spend time with the person to get to know them.  The more time you spend listening to the Words of God and learning from others with a genuine relationship with Him, the more real He will be to you.

Sincerely,
Nikki

introduction to WORK IT

Hi! 
This is my very first post.  i'm just going to speak straight from the heart as I haven't really thought about what I would say exactly. The reason I feel compelled to start a blog is because I just know there are a lot of mis-guided and suffering people out there. 

 I just want to help someone who may be an atheist, or contemplating suicide, or struggling in a failing marriage, or overwhelmed with the challenges of parenthood.  Perhaps there is someone struggling with their identity, finances, a lawsuit, health challenges,  the death or sickness of a loved one.   Maybe you just want to know why you were created and what your purpose is in  Life. 

I honestly believe that every problem has a solution. although there may not be quick fixes for most of our challenges and struggles that we face, there are principles that we can WORK that can change our lives for the better. If we WORK IT, IT will WORK for us.

The underlying thread of this blog will be to lovingly challenge, motivate and inspire you to take action that will produce a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled you!