Life is not the problem; it’s the Answer…

At times God will permanently place something in my heart and no matter how I try to over look it; it just want allow me to be at peace.  I was talking to my daughter (Tamika) the other day, about how annoyed I get every time I hear someone - especially Christians say: “Sometimes life will just hand you a bunch of rotten eggs or throws you a punch in the face”.   She said to me: “Mommy I remember when we were studying the Purpose Driven Life; the one thing that stuck out to me was when the author said if something continually annoys you, it means you are suppose to do something about it.  Perhaps your annoyance is God’s way of telling you to do something about it.”  I have to be honest and tell you that when she said that to me, my first thought was “But how?” 

I communicate with people all the time, who feel that life has not been fair to them, and according to them, they’ve tried going to church, returning tithes, the whole nine yards; and they feel like they believe in God - but they can’t understand why He’s allowing them to have such a bad life.  Ok, I do share in that way and when I do, they often ask “Well why is it that sometimes my Pastor says life can be hard, is he not a man of God, shouldn’t he know the truth?”  Today I realized that God has given me another way on a greater scale to answer this question, “My Blog”.  According to the reports I receive on this blog, I get a great deal of views, so I should be good.

Now here I am today informing whoever will read this that “Life is not the problem; it’s the Answer.”   The longer I remain a Christian the more I realized the importance of reading and knowing God’s word for myself, this is why His word informs us to:

“Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).”

As a Believer, meaning one who believes the word of God; that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1), that it gives life (1 John 5:11), that it is a lamp unto our feet (Ps. 119:105), and more importantly that Jesus came, lived and died so that we could have LIFE and have it more abundantly (John 10:10); I often find myself grieved when I hear Pastors and other Believers say “Life is not fair, that Life is hard, or that it will throw you a blow that seems to knock you off your feet.”  When I hear such contradictions, I wonder if they really are who they say they are - if they really are believers in the word of God or could it be that they’re just not thinking before they speak.  Before I go any further let me just give you the meaning of believe: it means to see something as reality, to see it as truth.  It’s important for you to really know the meaning of believing; Believer, because when you get this truth into your mind you’ll be better off – for it is with the mind we serve God (Roman 7:25).

Too often as Christians we follow the crowd by somewhat for a better like of words “Speaking out of both sides of our mouth”- we say one thing out of one side then go back and contradict it out of the other side.  How in the world of truth! Can you encourage someone to know that God gives life and that life is in His son Jesus Christ (1 John 5:11) but then at the same time, say life is hard or that sometimes it can throw you for a loop....  This is something that just does not sit right with me, it would be better if we simply said situations can be hard or can throw you for a loop.  Understand it is not life because LIFE came so that we could live – in abundance!

All throughout God’s word I read how He has giving us choices but then He turns right back around and tell us what choice we should make; as if He’s saying “Ok, I have set out there this and that but it would be better if you choose this.”   If we would be truly honest with ourselves, and look back at all the stuff we’ve gone through, all the hardship we’ve experienced – we‘d come to realize, it was not life but choices that made the situation.  It could have been your choice, your parent’s choice - someone made a choice, someone decided to do what they did to make that situation what it was or is.  Life is a gift, and when you are given a gift, you have a choice to make it what you want it to be, to use it how you decide to use it.   It’s your choice to determine if you will live life in its fullness or live it settling for whatever situation comes your way.

This thing is so in me that I could write about it for days, but instead, I'd like to challenge you to know God for yourself, because when you know Him, you’ll realize that Jesus is life (John 14:6); you’ll also realize that God is good – all the time (Ps. 100:5).... and there is no contradiction in that.  Please know that God and His son Jesus Christ are one, if Jesus is life then God is life, if God is good then Jesus is good (John 1:1, John 10:30) – please don’t make it difficult!  It’s really simple when you just learn to accept it. 

God’s word say’s: “A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.  Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof (Proverbs 18:20-22).” 

Each time you complain about life, what you're actually doing is saying - what Jesus came to do is of no effect.  You show your lack of respect and disbelief in the power of Life, which is Jesus Christ, in the power of the Giver of life and if He lives in you then it is He who gives you life and what can be wrong about that, what could be bad about that Life.  So watch how you speak about your life, and for all you Believers, the next time you feel the need to complain about life, to speak ill of life, remember Who you’re talking about.  Life is good because God is good, and that never changes even when situations occur.  Remember, Life is not the Problem but it is the Answer....

Below you will find a few verses to reflect upon but please, search the word for yourself.

Grace & peace….

New Testament verses:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall
not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the
world, but to save the world through him.  John 3:16-17

I am the bread of life.  He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will
never be thirsty.  John 6:35

I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.  John 8:12

If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth
will set you free.  John 8:31-32

 

Old Testament verses:

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it.

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. Deuteronomy 30:14-16

I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you 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. Deuteronomy 30:18-20

“See now that I myself am he! 

There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of my hand. Deuteronomy 32:39

 He said to them, “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.

 They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. By them you will live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to possess.” Deuteronomy 32:46-48

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

 all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:6

Are you really walking in Faith?

<sup>It's been a bit since my last blog, and I had something else in mind; however, I'm led to shed some light on faith.  I've been conversing with a lot of people in varies backgrounds and organizations and what I'm finding is this phase: "I'm just walking by faith" is just that to most who use it and nothing more because sadly to say they really don't understand what faith really is:


14</sup> What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ¹⁸ 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. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! ²⁰ But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? ²¹ Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? ²² Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? ²³ And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”And he was called the friend of God. ²⁴ You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. ²⁵ Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? ²⁶ For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
James 2:14-25 NKJ, also read NIV translation


Whenever you proclaim to have faith, it means you're actively doing something to bring about a different result - to bring change. This verse helps you to understand the truth of faith, and it specifies that: as the body is dead without the spirit, so is faith without works is dead also. This tells me that as the spirit gives life to the body so does works give life to faith; therefore, works is the life behind faith.  When you understand faith you should understand that faith is always busy doing what is needed to change the situation or circumstance.

When you speak of being one of faith this should be evident in your actions-your speech, thoughts (understanding), your visibility (perception), your deeds, your lifestyle and your acceptance in how or what direction your life will take.  To often I meet people who say they're walking by faith but they're not going anywhere, they're not progressing-nothing about them has or is changing. Everything they do contradicts what faith really is.  Faith brings change, it increases, it stretches out because it has no limitations in its ability to do what is good, what is right-what it is purposed to do.  Faith makes your hope visible.

Hebrews 11:1 speaks of faith's purpose and ability, it says: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Substance means: essential or absolutely necessary.
Evidence means: proof - now this word comes from the root word "Evident" which means: clear to see

So what this tell me about it's purpose is: faith is absolutely necessary to receive what you're hoping for , but watch its ability; its the evidence of things not seen, which simply means it has the ability to make what you're hoping for become clear to see-to you and others.  However, there is a requirement; you have to put forth some action-some work. Faith is a busy and productive fellow, it causes you to work toward what you're hoping for in order to make it visible.  At the end of Hebrews 11:1 it speaks of faith being the evidence of things not seen, understand that not seen or unseen does not mean nonexistent. Something can be invisible and still exist as with our thoughts and words because they eventually create our surroundings but then that's another blog.   


Hebrews 11:3 tells us how the invisible creates the visible:  By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

This tells me that when you walk in faith-faith causes that invisible hope to become visible, but it also tells me that God Himself operated in faith, and He put that faith to work so that He could make the intangible; tangible and the invisible; visible.  Anytime you're walking in faith, something should be happening, something should change and at some point it should become evident.  If you say you're walking in faith and nothing has change, something is wrong; and perhaps you need to evaluate your faith, perhaps you need to put that faith to work because faith produces and it manifest whatever it comes in contact with because it's always at work, which simply means if you're walking in it, you too should be at work, doing something to move toward or manifest what you're hoping for.  So I challenge you, to take a good look at what you're calling faith, and if it's not actively putting forth some effort, than perhaps what you call faith is not really faith at all.

Grace & peace!
Bertha

Any feedback or comments are always welcomed. If you'd like to know more about me please feel free to visit my site:   http://www.berthabarrett.com/JUST-BELIEVE.html