First Faith Then Understanding

Faith precedes understanding. The world says, “Seeing is believing.” but the Bible says, “Believing is seeing.” Likewise, people say, “Show me and then I will believe.” Jesus says, “Believe me and then I will show you.”

Believing in something before you see it, is so contrary to human nature. We have been conditioned to see things first, and then believe. Life teaches us to adopt the phrase, ‘I’ll believe it, when I see it.”

Life is full of setbacks, disappointments and I kept promises. So many of us have been hurt by people we have trusted the most.

Because of the way our minds have been conditioned, sometimes we can by guilty of putting God into the same category that we put people in.

Our faith pleases God. When we have faith, and believe God’s Word and His promises it actually brings Joy.

Before I became a believer I tried picking up the Bible and reading it. It seemed to be all gibberish. I could not even pretend I understood it, because I didn’t. When I began to have faith, I began to understand the Bible.

Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “Without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing to Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him.

Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 17 when they could not cast out a demon, that it was because of their unbelief. And if they have the faith of a mustard seed they could move mountains.

There is no where in the Bible where we read God is not able, or God does not exist. God can do anything but fail.

God wants us to believe in His character, that He says who He is, God’s Word tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith.

“God is not man that He should lie, He is not human, that He should change His mind. Has He ever spoken and failed to act. Has He promised and not carried through” -Numbers 23:19 (NLT).

Are You Patriotic

Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?

I am a patriot. I am a person who lives, supports, and defends my country and it’s interests with devotion.

Being a patriot to be means I value individual rights. And am willing to defend those rights against interference by the federal government. I support freedom and because defending freedom means defending human rights.

I support the freedom of religion and freedom of speech. I support my God-given rights which is life, liberty, and the fruits of my own labor, and the pursuit of happiness.

It’s Not God’s Fault

Why does God let this happen? Have you ever asked that question? Why would God allow me to suffer?

We all have asked that question at some point in our lives. Even David the King of Isreal, who was known as a man after God’s own heart. He asked over and over again in Psalm 22:1.

So why does God allow us to suffer? Couldn’t He have created a world where there was no suffering? The answer is He did.

When God created the world it was perfect. Genesis 1:31 says, “God saw all that He made, and it was very good.” There was no sin, no sickness, no death, or betrayal. But after the first humans were put on earth, they sinned, and that changed everything (Genesis 1:2).

Since then, it’s not a matter of if will we have troubles, but when we will. In John 16:33, Jesus says, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble, but cheer up! I have overcome the world.”

Unintenually Breaking The Law

Have you ever unintentionally broken the law?

Answer Prompt: Have you ever unintentionally broken the law? I think the only law I ever broke unintentionally would be speeding because I didn’t know what the speed limit was.

I was in a different town, and couldn’t see any speed limit signs. And I was pulled over for speeding. When I told the officer I didn’t see any signs for the speed limit. He let me go.

Grace And Destiny

People talk a lot about the grace of God. Believers are always praying for grace. Grace is God’s inherited favor. The enabling power and presence of God. Grace is another way of saying, “I want God’s blessing on my life.”

Grace and blessings are defined in many different ways. These are all good descriptions, but they leave out one key ingredient -purpose.

There’s always a reason attached to the grace of God. Paul explains this in Romans 1:5,

“Through Him and for His name’s sake, we receive grace and apostleship to call people from all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” (We are the Gentiles)

In this short verse, there are two elements of grace. It tells us not only about what God wants to bless us with, but how He wants us to use what He freely gives us. We need to take these to heart if we want to see God’s grace manifested.

He doesn’t give us grace so that we can spend it on our pleasures, it’s about His agenda on earth. Where His grace comes to the forefront.

I need to pick up this attitude. I receive His grace so that His name will be magnified in my life.

Grace and calling go hand in hand. Seeking God’s grace without finding your calling in Christ is worthless. It’s through His grace that we fulfill our purpose.

It is God’s grace that brings you into your destiny. It’s what you were created for. Without that knowledge, you’re simply living from problem to problem. Instead of always seeking grace to get over the next obstacle in you’re life, find the direction that the Holy Spirit is leading you to.

Paul was aware that God’s grace had pinpoint accuracy. He was called to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles. That’s why God poured His grace on Pauls ministry.

It is the same for us. As we grow in Christ, car need to fine-tune our calling. Who am I called to reach? What are my gifts and abilities? When we begin to answer these questions, we will be able to find that perfect position of grace that we are called to walk in.

2 Corinthians 6:1, tells us, “As fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.”

That means that we don’t receive the grace of God for no purpose. Grace is always attached to destiny. Our walk today must be with an eternal focus. That’s what God’s grace is all about.

Give God Your Revenge

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” – Romans 12:19

This is a crucial promise in overcoming our bent toward bitterness and revenge. And the reason is bitterness and revenge are powerful impulses behind anger becomes impulse that that are not entirely wrong,

In many cases, wrongs have been done to us. But, it is now entirely wrong to feel that justice should be done. What’s wrong is to feel that we must make it happen and that we may feel bitter until it does.

The big mistake is staying bitter and having unforgiveness in your heart. I held on to the bitterness and unforgiveness for many years, too many years. I tell you from experience, the only person who is suffering is you. Bitterness and unforgiveness only kill those who keep it inside.

There are biblical commands and warnings concerning an unforgiving spirit

  • Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgavr you. Ephesians 4:32
  • If you do more forgive others…neither will your Father forgive your trespasses -Matthew 6:15

When we don’t forgive others our souls are in danger.

The grace of God’s judgment is promised to us in Romans 12 which helps us overcome such a deadly spirit of revenge and bitterness.

The Apostle Paul’s argument is that we can be sure that all wrongs will be dealt with by God and that we can leave the matter in His hands because vengeance belongs to the Lord. To motivate us to lay down our vengeful desires He give us a promise: “I will repay, says the Lord.”

The promise that frees us from an unforgiving, bitter, vengeful spirit is the promise that God will settle our accounts. He will do it more justly and more mercifully than we ever could. He punishes all sin. Nobody gets away with anything. He promises it either in Jesus on the cross for those who repent and trust Him, or in hell for those who don’t. There, we can back off and leave room for God to do His perfect work.

This is something I wish I had known years ago. Bitterness and unforgiveness plagued my soul. I was slowly poisoning myself for someone else’s wrong doing.

My Biography Title

If there was a biography about you, what would the title be?

If there was a biography about me. The title would be, “A Life in Progress: A Story of her Journey and Growth.

God is not done with me. Even with a broken heart, my wounds, and scars, Even when I’m lost and it’s hard not to fall apart. God is still writing my story.

Running On Empty

Most of us who drive realize fuel is an absolute necessity for our vehicles to run. We know that when the gas gauge reads empty or when we see that annoying light come on, it’s time to pull into the gas station and fill it up. How many of you have tried to see how far you could get running on empty?

I’ve said to myself “Just a few more miles. Slowly but surely the tank is completely empty, leaving on the side of the road a few times. And ended up calling my husband to bring the gas can.

If we look at our spiritual lives, many times we try to see how far we can get unintentionally, without spending quality one-on-one time with God. We think that a Sunday worship service should hold us over until next week’s encounter, or that a Sunday lesson should suffice until the Wednesday Bible study. The light comes on, the Holy Spirit reminding you that your spiritual tank is low and that it would be a good idea to pull over now before your stranded. But in our pride, we “keep on truckin along,” trying to make it to the next mile marker on our own strength, our own power, our own knowledge.

This is where we fail as believers almost routinely. Our egos get in the way of the Holy Spirit that is trying to get our attention. Meanwhile we remain on cruise control for the week. We try to fill our tank with friends, insightful books, worship music and all are positive things we use as a substitute to fill that void. These are not sufficient enough for sustained spiritual growth. This only comes from consistent, passionate alone times with God.

When our lives start to have problems or when we find ourselves struggling we blame God. When really the blame is on us.

Sunday, services, Bible studies, and prayer groups and time with God helps us to stay accountable and stay in close fellowship with Him. If we do this we will be able to hear God more closely and be able to let Him guide us in our daily lives and through the struggles that come out way.

The next time to look at the gas gauge in your car, picture it ad your spiritual gad gauge and see if you are running on empty in your spiritual tank too.

AskGod to fill you up to over flowing so we won’t be running on empty. Remind yourself ti step back and spend some time with God in a one on one meeting. Don’t run your life on empty, run on being empowered with God.

Parents

What were your parents doing at your age?

Answer prompt : What were your parents doing at my age. I was the last child, and my brother died on a scout trip at age 14. So I felt like I was an only child. My Father was a retired marine but also painted vehicles.. He would come home and drink beer and so to bed after watching television.

My mother kept the house clean and cooked. That was her job. My mother at age 59 passed away.

I really wasn’t close to my mother, because of the way she treated me. And my Father blamed my brother’s death on himself. And turned to alcohol to cope. And me I just tried to stay away as much of possible. My home was a difficult place to be don’t avoided it most the time.

Changing The Law

If you had the power to change one law, what would it be and why?

If I could change one law. I wouldn’t want to change a law, I would just like people to start following them.

Anti-corruption law and standards prohibit payment if anything of value by a person or entities to government oofficials. This law should be enforced to the fullest extent of the law.

I think anyone who works in politics should have term limits. People shouldn’t become politicians and become richer. The corruption in government is horrific.

Prioritizing God In Our Relationships

“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones” – Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV)

Many of us have probably heard about the importance of having a strong relationship with God. When our heart is pointed toward God and our relationship with Him is right, this will overflow into other relationships in our lives and impact how we treat others. This applies to all types of relationships.

It is essential that we prioritize God in our relationships, no matter the connection. He should be the most important person in our lives and His Word helps guide us on how to love and respect others. When we prioritize our relationship with God, we take better care of the relationships in our lives.

Putting God First

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who live me and gave Himself for me“ -Galatians 2:20 (NIV)..

When we become true believers, God‘s wishes take precedence over our own desires. He becomes a priority in our lives. In Relationships, if we do not have our firm foundations in Christ we can be drawn away from this priority.

If we join a group of friends and suddenly spend all of our time hanging out with them instead of spending time in God’s presence or devoting all of our time to our significant other and forgetting to fellowship with other believers our relationships will suffer.

Mark 12:30-31 tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” This shows us what is most important in life both of which involve relationships.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” – Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV).

Not all relationships muddle our priorities in fact, many relationships can also push us go grow deeper in our faith.. We may have people in our lives who encourage us when we are struggling and loves us like Jesus. These people are a blessing in our lives. As Proverbs 17:17 says, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.”

We can build a Christ-centered relationship but we must first evaluate ourselves. Are we focused in Christ and striving to follow Him? Are we loving and caring for others the way God’s Word tells us to? If not, we can pray to develop these qualities and practice being more like Jesus.

It’s easier to become more like Christ Jesus when we surround ourselves with those who are striving to do the same. But, we need to remember that God’s Word tells us to treat those who love who do not have the same ideals or those who step on our nerves. Relationships of all know and take effort and love on our part. If we are struggling with this, there is no better place to turn to than the Bible, which offers wisdom on how to treat others.

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other one up. But pity anyone who fails and has no one to help them up. Also if one lies down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NIV)

When you have someone or a group of people who are committed to strengthening each other, it can help us greatly at different points of our lives. When we are at a low point where we are sad or hurt, we can rely on other people to lift us up. Even I good times these people are a great value.

My Dream House

Write about your dream home.

Beach House

It has to have at least 5 bedrooms and a big kitchen with pantry space, and an outside kitchen. A workout gym. And direct access to the beach.