Faith

In conversation with a very good friend of mine, the subject of faith came up. We often discuss the goodness of God and how the journey is a learning and growing process. That faith is the center and that there is no way around faith. As I stated at the end of the last post, faith is our foundation.  So as we were talking, my friend made this statement, "faith stands in the place of the thing you are believing God for." Immediately, Holy Spirit gave me a word picture or some might call it a vision of that statement. I saw faith the way it is described in Hebrews 11, Now faith "is" the substance (my children's health, my healing, family finances, etc.) of things hoped for, the evidence (proof, bills paid, deseases gone) of things not seen (by natural sight, but seen by my supernatural sight). Faith became a tangible commodity in my spirit that I had not seen before. Then the conversation went on. Faith stands in proxy or in the place of whatever I have prayed or asked God to do in my situation. Basically this is how I saw faith in that vision. I'm from the city of Philadelphia and parking is limited there, so there were times when I was growing up where neighbors would put 2 folding chairs, spaced apart in the spot they wanted their car to be parked, in front of their house on the steeet. Why would they do that? So that no one would park there and when dad would come home, they would have a park in front of their house. So, once dad came home he would honk the horn and someone would come out of the house, move the chairs and the car would be parked.  Their desire would be met. There is no more need to have the chairs there because the car arrived. So, is our faith. The chairs represents our faith in the place of what we want...the park in front of the house. We keep the chairs (my Faith) in place until the manifestation of my prayer request. I don't look at the fact that I don't have it or that it hasn't arrived. I look at my faith which is in the place of the request. The family did not sit there looking at the chairs and doubting if the chairs could hold the spot for dad's car. No, everyone in that house after the chairs were in place went into the house and continued with life, knowing that when they hear the horn it was time to move the chair (faith) because the faith for the car to be parked was no longer necessary. Now, take chairs (faith) for that park (request) and use it in another area of your life. I don't know about you, but this gave me a boost in my Christian life. I now have another tool that helps me as I stand in faith. Most Christians lose heart, faint or give up because they are not anchored in faith. I pray that this post will give you a deeper understanding of your faith in the Lord. Christianity is not magic, it's not a microwave of events. There may be times where you have to wait.  It's better to wait with expectation and a knowing of how faith works. I must mention that we need to know if we are actually in faith or if we have imagined something that may not be a faith matter. Sometimes, we don't need to pray...we may need to do. Example, if you are not a tither, then your finances are cursed.  Malachi 3:8-12 tells you exactly why your money is funny (not good)! You cannot rob God in tithes and offerings and then ask him for more money so that you can continue to rob him and say that God doesn't answer your prayers. Find out what your part is in whatever the subject is, do your part and then expect God move on your behalf. And always remember,  God loves you and wants you to be successful. He's a loving Father and knows how to give good gifts to his children. Faith is a good gift of God, so use your gift and glorify God in all you do.    We are ambassadors of Christ. 1 Corinthians 5:20

Jesus said, "It is Finished!"

When someone announces that they are finished, what is the image that plays in your mind? First, I believe that you consider the person and what their past track record has been. Have they been trustworthy, have they ever done something that would cause you to doubt them, do they have a good reputation, etc.? All these thoughts runs through our mind so quickly and you might not even realize that this thought process occurred! As you ponder their statement, "it is finished," you then need to find out what the "it" is that they finished. Was it an assignment you gave them, is it dinner...what is finished? Once you discover what the "it" is, then you have to have a reference as to how would you determine if "it" truly is finished. In this entire process if you don't ask the right questions, or if you don't have the right reference point, you won't know for sure if indeed this person finished the task. So for these three simple words, "It is Finished" we have just opened up a can of worms as it were and the worms are not going back into the can. In John 6:63, Jesus tells us that the words he speaks to us "they are spirit and they are life." So, let's find out the spirit and the life that are in the words Jesus spoke in John 19:30 when he said, "It is Finished." As stated above, one would need to establish the character of the person speaking. Jesus and the Father are one, John 10:30. In Numbers 23:19 we find that God cannot lie, so Jesus cannot lie. Now that is a characteristic that I can trust. Next, let's find out what Jesus finished. In Luke 4:18-21 Jesus quoted a portion of Isaiah 61 where the definition of the "IT" is expanded and explicit, to the point in the whole chapter. So, you will need to do a study of what Jesus' assignment was ib Isaiah 61 and then you will have to decide if you believe him when he said it is finished. Do you believe not only that you are saved from hell and will live with Jesus forever...but do you also believe the rest of what Jesus came to do is for you? It takes faith to trust that Jesus finished everything that he came to do and that it is available to you as a child of God. In John 10:10 Jesus tells what the devil came to do and what he came to do. Jesus that he came for us to have life more abundantly. This sounds like Isaiah 61 to me in a nutshell! So, will you believe Jesus when he said, it is finished? We can't believe in what we are experiencing if it doesn't line up with God's word. That's what faith is all about. We must trust, believe, and expect to possess what God intended for us. The Christian life should not be the same as those who don't know Jesus. In scripture we are called a new creature, a chosen generation, kings and priests unto God. What do these descriptions mean to you? Anyone can look in a dictionary and get the meaning of words, but we need the supernatural meanings because remember that the words spoken to us are spirit and life, not natural! Faith is the Christian's starting point and it is how we are to live. We began by believing that God sent his Son to save us. We have to continue in faith for throughout eternity. So in conclusion,  I want to encourage you to find out what your covenant rights are in Christ Jesus and use your faith to obtain them. It's your gift! 2 Corinthians 5:20