Tag Archives: Jesus Christ

Faith

Keys to Effective Faith

Faith reaches into the realm of the spirit, grasps the promise of God and brings forth a tangible, physical fulfillment of that promise. ~ Gloria Copeland

Let’s talk about faith – the God kind of faith. He defines it as effective faith – faith that moves mountains.

The Apostle Paul knew a lot about faith. He wrote most of the New Testament letters and talks about faith in those Epistles more than 200 times. I’m guessing he has a lot for us to learn about the keys to effective faith.

You might remember that Paul (Saul) persecuted Christians, sanctioning their scourging and execution or imprisonment, prior to his spiritual transformation on the road to Damascus. When he discovered the truth of Jesus Christ, he also discovered the power of effective faith – absolute trust in the integrity and surety of God’s power, grace and mercy. He is the one who declared that God meets ALL your need; that God’s promises are sure, and faith is your connection to the manifestation of every promise.

In Philemon, Paul prayed that the communication of your faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus (v. 6). Let’s take a deeper look into the wisdom of that scripture.

… the communication: Communication is a means of exchange or expression. Faith communicates. It is not stagnant or ineffective. It connects with, reveals, or causes a transfer of something.

We talk about communicating disease from one person to another. We are aware that our emotions communicate themselves to others. And we communicate verbally by sharing stories, ideas and concepts, warnings and information. You get the idea.

Faith communicates. On a physical level, you place your faith in people and circumstances. “I believe my mom is picking me up after school.” Or… “I trust my boss to pay me on Friday.”

On a spiritual level, faith communicates your trust in God and His Word. In Hebrews, Paul says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not [yet] seen (v. 11:1). Be assured, God wants to meet your needs, provide everything you require, and give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 34:7). Faith is the key that connects you to God’s heavenly supply.

… of your faith: Paul said in Romans that God gave every man the measure of faith (v. 12:3). That means if you’re here on this earth, faith is in you and available, ready to be put to work. Later, in Ephesians, he noted that we should all come into the unity of the faith and… the measure of the fullness of Christ (v. 4:13). If you’re going to ‘come’ to something, you must not be there yet. In other words, you’re going to have to grow and develop your faith until it is strong and unshakeable – just like Jesus’.

Jesus never met a disease or situation that He couldn’t heal or change. He fed thousands, healed lepers, calmed storms and raised the dead. After He defeated Satan, He affirmed His resurrection to His disciples and sent the Holy Spirit to live in every born-again believer.

Why? So that we would have access to the same kind of faith-power that He did. He explained it this way: Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believes in Me, the works that I do he [you] shall do also; and greater works than these shall he [you] do, because I go unto My Father (John 14:12). He expects us – you and me – to develop our faith to the point where we expect miracles to happen as a result of our prayers.

… may become effectual: Effectual – effective, producing the desired result. If you’re not seeing the results you want, something’s not working right. Face the fact that God is not the problem. He’s already provided everything, every promise and every instruction that you need. Somewhere along the line, your faith is being hindered. It’s not making a clear, strong connection.

If you’ve ever tried to make a cell phone call in the mountains or some rural area, you know the chances are pretty good that the trees and hills are going to block your reception. You need to find out what’s blocking your faith-connection – and fix it.

Often, faith is weakened by a lack of faith-food. You may not be spending enough time studying and meditating in The Word of God. It’s easy to let the cares and responsibilities of daily life crowd out time with God. Jesus taught as much in the parable of the sower. He said they choke the Word, and [faith] becomes unfruitful (Matt. 13:22). Faith needs nurtured and fed, watered by The Word, to become strong and effective.

Sadly, most people won’t do that. They’d rather hope that God will just ‘fix it’ – wave a magic wand, so to speak, and make it all better. Miracles do happen, but they are usually triggered by someone’s faith. Everything God does on this earth is a result of faith and grace. Paul explained in Romans that it [whatever ‘it’ you are believing or hoping for] is of faith, that it might be given by grace [why?] so that the promise might be sure to all the seed (v. 4:16). The promise is ‘sure’, confirmed, absolute from God’s side. Are you willing to do what it takes to develop your faith to make a strong connection?

… by the acknowledging of every good thing: One way to develop your faith is to recognize and acknowledge the good that is already present in your life. You need to know and admit that whatever good comes your way, it’s from God. He’s the Master behind it all! His good plan incorporates every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) – from the smallest to the greatest.

The question is: how grateful are you? Do you take time throughout the day to say ‘thank you’ to your Heavenly Father, to acknowledge His hand in your life? Are you grateful for running water… or the fact that you can get out of bed in the morning. If you don’t have those particular blessings, what else can you be grateful for?

It’s easy to get your thoughts tangled up in the negatives. Your whole body might feel just fine, but if you have a hangnail, the only thing you notice is the pain in your fingertip. For your faith to be effective, however, you need to focus on the positives and be ‘eternally’ grateful. In every thing give thanks… (I Thess. 5:18). No matter what you’re going through, find the ‘good thing’ you can be thankful for. Keeping your mind on things which are above (Col. 3:2)is key to developing effective faith.

… which is in you in Christ Jesus: Here’s the bottom line. Whatever you need or desire, as long as it’s in line with God’s Word (I assume you’re not praying for an infinite supply of drugs, or for God to hurt someone), the promise is accessible in you! The Bible says that Christ is in you. You carry the seed of faith, love, peace, abundance and every good thing. Now, you need to grow that seed!

Just before He died on the cross, Jesus said, “It is finished.” (John 10:30)What was? Everything He came to earth to do: to bring healing, deliverance, abundance, grace and mercy to every person. All He did during His earthly ministry would now carry forward into eternity. Old Testament verses that say ‘shall’ or ‘will’ became past tense with the death and resurrection of Christ! It is already done, as far as God is concerned.

You can have it all – every promise. Actually, you already have it- it is already in you! Jesus made the connection from heaven to earth. Now you need to use your faith to finish the connection.

Think of it this way. Electricity (power) is readily available at any outlet. But if you don’t plug in the toaster or laptop, you won’t have any power for your situation. No toast. No email.

Your faith ‘communicates’ with God, plugging in to the power of heaven. Study and meditate, then communicate your faith through prayer, praise, thanksgiving and affirmation. Stay with it until your faith overpowers every faith blocker, every doubt and fear. Then you will experience the results of effective faith and the fulfillment of every prayer.

For more information on developing life skills, better relationships, and becoming the best YOU possible, visit [http://seebecksolutions.com] and sign up to receive your FREE subscription to “Solutions For Success”, a weekly ezine of inspiration, motivation and humor from a Christian perspective.

Ruth Seebeck has built a reputation over the last three decades as a life-skills coach, mentor, Christian counselor and friend. She is a business owner, author, community volunteer and event coordinator whose passion is helping others overcome life’s challenges. Seebeck Solutions: Helping you make the most of What Matters Most!

 

Faith

Talk About Faith

What is Faith?

 

Faith is one of those words that is difficult to tie down to one simple definition. The concept of faith is a broad one. Generally, ‘faith’ means much the same as ‘trust’. Faith has been defined in many ways (free online dictionary) as;

 

• Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing,

 

• An allegiance to duty or a person,

 

• Belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence,

 

• Secure belief in God and a trusting acceptance of God’s will.

 

• A set of principles or beliefs.

 

Of course, there is no ‘established’ terminology for different meanings or definitions of faith.

 

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy gives a brief initial characterisation of the principal models of faith and their nomenclature which may nevertheless be helpful. These are:

 

the ‘purely affective’ model: faith as a feeling of existential confidence.

 

the ‘special knowledge’ model: faith as knowledge of specific truths, revealed by God.

 

the ‘belief’ model: faith as belief that God exists.

 

the ‘trust’ model: faith as belief in (trust in) God.

 

the ‘doxastic venture’ model: faith as practical commitment beyond the evidence to one’s belief that God exists.

 

the ‘sub-doxastic venture’ model: faith as practical commitment without belief.

 

the ‘hope’ model: faith as hoping or acting in the hope that the God who saves exists.

 

FAITH AND CHRISTIANITY

 

Many Bible students will give Hebrews 11:1 as the meaning of faith and leave it at that. It states that, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” – NLT. However, even though this is the form definitions are given in, this verse is more of an expression of the power and importance of faith than it is a definition of faith. In fact, one already needs to know what faith is before this verse will make much sense to them. This makes this verse a frustrating answer to someone who is trying to get a footing on the foundational meaning of faith.

 

Biblical Definition of Faith

 

If you want a short definition of faith, it could be this: taking God at His word. It is true that our faith is in God. But we do not properly know the God we should believe in or know how to believe in Him unless He tells us in His word. This is why Paul says in Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Biblical faith is not an “unquestioning belief that does not require proof or evidence” (Webster’s New World Dictionary). It is full confidence in God’s word. FAITH accepts God’s word (His promises and His warnings) as FACT and acts accordingly. Since there are many evidences that the word of God is true, this is not a blind leap of faith. It is rather an intelligent, holy reaction to the wondrous words of God.

 

Faith as a Concept to the Gospel

 

Faith is also a central concept taught by Jesus Christ. It is the culminating element in reference to the Gospel which the Biblical Writers termed as the “good news”, which is proclaimed by Christians to the entire world. This is found in the most famous of all Bible passages, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

 

(Mark 1:15). In the understanding of Jesus, faith is an act of trust and of self-abandonment by which a person no longer rely on his/her own strength and policies but commit himself/herself to the power and guiding word of him in whom he/she believes (Matthew 21:25,32; Luke 1:20, 45). Most of the definitions in the history of Christian knowledge and teachings still followed biblical principles as contained in Apostle Paul`s letter to Hebrews quoted above. As in other monotheistic faiths or religions, it includes a belief in God, a belief in the reality of a transcendent domain that God administers as His Kingdom from His Throne and in the benevolence of God’s will or plan for mankind and the World to Come.

 

Moreover, Faith in Christianity in the same vein differs from those Abrahamic religions in that it focuses on the ministry of Jesus, and on his place as the prophesied Christ. It also includes a belief in the New Covenant. According to most Christian traditions, Christian faith requires a belief in the resurrection of Jesus Christ (God the Son) from the dead by God the Father through God the Holy Spirit.

 

The precise understanding of the term “faith” differs among the various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally agree that faith in Jesus lies at the core of the Christian tradition, and that such faith is required in order to be a Christian. The Christian tradition is sometimes called “the faith”, since faith in Jesus is so central to the tradition. Faith and the word “belief” are often used synonymously, which has led to Christians being called ‘believers’ i.e. those who believes in the Lord Jesus and have endeared themselves to His ways and teachings.

 

We then conclude that it is true that faith is much more than a mental acceptance of something as true; it also involves a trust in or reliance on that something.

 

 

 

 

Leadership

Throw Away All Your Leadership Books

I hate to say it, but most business leadership books are absolute trash. Typically, they’re oriented toward Fortune 500 companies and written by people who don’t have a clue about how to lead one of the regular, everyday businesses that make up 99% of the business sphere. In this article, I’m going to tell you about the real secret of successful leadership — what you should be doing if you want to be a leader in your field.

Nowadays, it’s the “in” thing to be a leader, and sure, there are certainly things you can identify with those who claim leadership. But you have to wonder: why are people always talking about how to be a leader? Why aren’t they just out there leading by example, showing us instead of telling us?

Some people seem to think that everybody is capable of being a leader, is a leader, or should be a leader. Well, here’s a news flash: if everybody’s a leader, then no one is. To be a leader, you need followers; and in any case, you can’t have everybody occupying the same space in society. There’s nothing wrong with being a leader, but you actually have to be out front to claim the title. You’re never going to get anywhere if all you want to do is achieve income equality or a level playing field, which won’t happen anyway. Utopian ideals don’t mix well with business reality. If you want to distribute income and leadership equally, get out of business, because your competitors will eat you alive.

There must be and will be a leader in every environment and situation. Even when people start out entirely even, someone will eventually take the lead. It’s a natural law that some people will do better than others. Some will create wealth with the money they have, and leverage it into greater wealth. So what makes that person a leader? Well, a true leader is good at persuading people to do what they want them to do. They have something to say that makes people rally around them and give them their support, in the form of labor, social prestige, or money. This is true of secular, religious, and business leaders alike. Sometimes the leaders are benevolent; sometimes they’re dictators.

If nothing else, business leaders have to convince people that their products or services are good deals for them. They can successfully pitch their product to an audience and get those people to respond.

The point is that when you think about leadership, don’t think about some nondescript thing that people can’t really quantify, and don’t entertain any politically correct ideas about what qualifies someone to be a leader. You’re a true leader only if you’ve learned to persuade people to follow you or to do what you want them to do. Jesus Christ was a true leader. Ronald Reagan was a true leader. So were Mao and even Hitler, though we don’t like to bring him up in polite conversation. Some of these people were born with natural charisma; others developed it.

It’s your duty as a marketer to use your creativity, inventiveness, and skills like public speaking and writing copy to enhance your leadership skills, whether or not you’re a natural leader. This results in increased sales and profit, because you can persuade people to buy what you’re offering. Learn to be a good persuader, and you’ll find yourself more successful than you’d be if you followed any of those leadership books. They’re a dime a dozen. Forget them. There’s no question that great salespeople, great marketers and good copywriters are great leaders, because we persuade people to take action and buy our products. In fact, most leadership is about selling — even politics.

Back when Andrew Jackson was a general — before he became president — he had a great saying: “I lead, you follow, and everybody else gets the hell out of the way.” You have to take the reins, because no one will just give them to you. But let’s be real here; most people are letting the business reins flop around loose. Dive on them and take charge of your market, especially when no one else will. Become the very definition of leadership for your market, and keep pushing that leadership in everyone’s faces.

John Maxwell once defined leadership as influence, and I firmly believe that your ability to influence other people is what makes you a real leader. Lots of people think they’re leaders, when no one is actually really following them. A specific position doesn’t automatically translate into leadership. Leadership isn’t a title, whether the title is CEO or President of the United States. Yes, people who serve under you may do what you say when you order them to, but if you’re not a true leader they won’t follow you when you turn your back, and they may find ways to sabotage you. If you’re a true leader, then you’re influencing people, providing real value in their lives You’re singing the song they want to hear, and they want to follow your lead.

Years ago I read another quote that went, “Good leaders are good followers.” When I first read it, I thought it was nonsense. How could a good leader be a good follower? But in the years since, I’ve given that quote a lot of thought, and I’ve seen the wisdom in it. A good leader understands his followers very, very well. There’s a push and pull there. Good leaders know how to admit when they’re wrong; they go to their followers and work with them, listening to what they have to say. And it’s doubly true today, as business leadership trends toward more of a one-to-one working relationship with the rank-and-file, where leadership supplies the vision and the rest of the team provides the strategy and execution. A good leader empowers his people.

The reason I know that most leadership books are crap is that I bought too many back in the 1990s; leadership was a very popular subject then. In most of those books, it’s difficult to pin down what the author is even getting at, because everything is so homogenized. Toss those books away — or at least put them on the shelves to collect dust — and remember that true leadership is based on your ability to influence and persuade other people. This is a learnable skill that you can develop over time.

If you liked this article and are serious about making more money, please consider letting T.J. Rohleder (a.k.a. “America’s Blue Jeans Millionaire”) personally help you. Check out his podcasts and coaching programs by going to http://www.tjrohleder.com.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/T.J._Rohleder/1735800

 

Faith, People

Faithful Like Jesus Christ

Text: Hebrews 3:1 – 6
Introduction:  The Hebrews writer makes a comparison and contrast between Jesus and Moses. Both were faithful. However, Jesus was worthy of greater honor than Moses. Jesus is equated with God who is the builder of all things. Scripture tells us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1: -3). Further, the covenant that Jesus established is more glorious than the Mosaic covenant. Moses’ work pointed forward to Christ. The tabernacle, its utensils, furnishings and its rituals all were shadows of the ministry of Jesus Christ. While Moses was faithful as a servant in God’s house, Jesus was faithful as a son over God’s house: a son is greater than a servant. Continue reading →

Leadership

Does A Best Leadership Style Exist?

So much is said [and written] about leadership. All questions are answered, it seems. How should you lead? What are the requirements to be a successful leader? How should a leader handle his/her followers? What are the better leadership styles? Everyone knows how to delegate, discipline, and develop your followers. We are also taught how to determine and use vision, mission, motivation and the like. In general, we live in times where the science of leadership, in all aspects has been thoroughly covered. Or has it?

I have often queried the fact that leadership gurus feel so secure in their statement that a ‘one best leadership style’ does not exist. How can they make such a statement when they have not properly researched the leadership style of the most important leader of all times? In my thesis and subsequent series of books on True Shepherd Leadership, I provide much evidence that a best leadership style does in fact exist, and that Christians are in fact instructed to apply the same leadership style. It is not as if we received a hint, pointing to the fact that if all else failed, we could perhaps consider this as a last resort, or handy alternative. We are admonished to go and do as Jesus did. We were supposed to lead according to the style that Jesus described and exhibited. We are supposed to be True Shepherd Leaders according to the example of Jesus.

Questions that need to be answered are: [a] How did Jesus lead, and [b] how do we know that it is the best leadership style?

Let us start with the second question, which to my mind is the easiest to answer. How can we say that the True Shepherd Leadership style, [the leadership style of Jesus Christ] is the best of all leadership styles? My suggestion to the doubtful ones is always to answer the following two easy questions: [i] Was Jesus in fact the most important leader ever on this earth, and [ii] would Jesus [being the Son of God] use an inferior leadership style, considering that He had all knowledge from eternal past to eternal future at His avail?

Beginning with the first question, all you need do is go to your local newspaper to prove that in fact Jesus is the most important leader ever. How does the newspaper prove this? Look at the date. It declares that today, [whatever the date], came up a certain number of years, months and days after the birth of Jesus. Wonderful is it not? Your calendar, diary, newspaper and magazines all witness to the existence of Jesus. Now, how many newspapers have you seen dated from the birth of Hitler, Kennedy, or Napoleon? If somebody had been printing such dates on papers, I have not seen any. I will not spend any more space to prove that Jesus is the world’s most important leader ever, but if you disagree, do some research yourself on who had the greatest influence on the human race ever, and I am confident you will also come to the same conclusion.

Secondly, how do we prove that Jesus applied the best ever leadership style? Answer this: Why would the Son of God, who had foreknowledge of everything from the beginning of the earth, NOT utilize the best leadership style available? In all honesty, I have not heard any worthwhile argument against Jesus exercising the best leadership style.

But, for the sake of the doubtful ones, let us think this over. The eternal all-knowing God provided mankind with a complete and perfect redemption plan. This plan was not only perfectly planned, but also perfectly timed. Making a study of God’s redemption plan, you cannot but stand in awe. Everything was so perfectly planned, and nothing was left to coincidence. You can look at many examples, such as for instance crucifixion as mode of capital punishment, or the total eclipse of the sun after Jesus’ death. Jesus’ crucifixion was foretold by prophets hundreds of years before. The words that Jesus uttered on the cross are recorded in the book of Psalms. There are so many facts making up the totality of the redemption plan, that it is unthinkable that God would have left anything to chance.

Why then, would He not have specifically designed and planned the leadership style of Jesus in the same meticulous manner? Jesus’ leadership style would have been perfectly planned as everything else, and therefore I cannot be convinced that He made use of a leadership style which was anything but the best.

Returning to the first part, namely what was the leadership style of Jesus really like, let us consider a few facts. Jesus [again without coincidence] came to earth in a time when farming [and especially sheep farming] was well-known and widely practiced. If a person came to any local school today and started talking about the behaviour of mountain sheep, chances are that no child in the school would have any knowledge about it. Not so in Jesus’ time however. Sheep, sheep farming, and the behaviour of sheep were well known. Sheep farming were part of the community.

Continue reading →