Paulette Talks Faith

Monday, September 21, 2015

Week 101: Faith Drills

Faith Drills

In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Ephesians 3:12

• Salvation . . .

• Manifestations . . .

• Defense . . .

Remember fire drills when you were in school? Fire trucks rolling up, packed with the cutest firemen you would ever want to see? (Okay, ignore that last remark.)

Anyway, those drills were given so we would have a sense of direction just in case of an actual fire. We knew which doors to exit from; we knew where to line up outside the school for safety.

We have faith drills all the time. I call them drills because most of them are not intensive; yet, they sharpen our faith skills. These faith drills are important like those fire drills were. We don’t want to only use our faith in emergency situations. That’s not a good idea.

We have to develop our faith all along the way in everything we do. And, we do that by learning to trust, lean, and depend on God while doing our everyday routines. This keeps Him in the forefront of our thoughts. The more we rely on Him as a real living Being, the more we are conscious of His presence.

Subsequently, when a true emergency comes, we aren’t calling on a God that is unfamiliar to us; but, we are calling on the God that we have a relationship with. Through this relationship, we have learned to know how faithful and loving He is. We have seen how much He cares, and is concerned about all that concerns us. We have personal knowledge of the Power that dwells within Him.

How can we have faith in God if He’s unknown to us?

When trouble comes, we can look to John 16:33. Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Faith Drills—Strengthens Faith so we can be of Good Cheer!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Week 100: God is Faithful!

God is Faithful!

…great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:23

• I will never leave you . . .

• Fear not, I will help you . . .

• Call on Me and I will help you . . .

This is week 100 of Paulette Talks Faith. When I first started, I remember wondering whether I would have enough to write about, to keep this blog going every week. I can say God has been faithful. He kept me inspired with writings, never missing a week. Every Monday morning I was able to post a new writing. I Am Thankful!

We can all attest to God’s faithfulness. The sun rises, and the sun sets—like clockwork. Seasons come and seasons go—right on schedule. We never run out of water to drink, or air to breath.

Even in your personal life, I’m sure you can see the faithfulness of God. Think about all the times He gave you the right words to say when you wanted to say the wrong ones. The days when you couldn’t see a way, God showed you the way. The times He distracted the enemy, while you passed right by him. What about the times He healed your body? How many times have you cried: Help Me Lord, and help came? We can depend on God to be faithful when we call on Him (Psalm 91:15). He never forgets about us, not for one second.

God’s faithfulness has two sides.

However, we have to look at the flip side of His faithfulness. Just as God is faithful to carry out His wonderful promises, He is just as faithful to carry out His promises that are linked to our disobedience. Uh-oh!

Since we are to be Christ-like, we have to think about how faithful we are towards one another. Do we keep our commitments even when we don’t feel like it, or when it’s inconvenient? Can people count on our support? Do we even keep the promises we make to ourselves? And most importantly, how faithful are we to God?

Can God Count on Your Faithfulness?

Monday, September 7, 2015

Week 99: Mid-life Exam

Mid-life Exam

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? James 2:22

• Analysis . . .

• Evaluation . . .

• Assessment . . .

We all took mid-term exams in school. Those exams told us and our teachers if we were doing well, or not. Based on that principle, I think it’s a good idea to take a mid-life exam to see how well we are progressing in our life as a Christian. We don’t want to wait until after finals to find out that we failed the course. We need to take the mid-life exam while we have time to repent.

I remember when I was in school; we use to keep teachers talking about some off-the-wall subject, so they would forget about the assignment we didn’t want to do. I think the enemy pulls that same trick on us. He wants to get us so involved in our daily lives that we forget about our main purpose for being on earth—to do the will of God.

Listed are sample questions you may consider for your mid-life exam.

•Is my life part of a solution? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

•Am I living a purposeful life? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

•Will I leave a legacy? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

•Is my life contributing anything towards helping others? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

•Am I using my gifts and talents for God’s purpose? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

•Am I walking in God’s will? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

• Does my life influence others to want to become a Christian? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

• Am I giving God my best? If so, how can you tell? If not, why not?

I’m sure you noticed that each question ended the same way: If so, how can you tell? If not, why not? That’s because when you take your answers beyond a yes/no response, it requires you to think further, resulting in additional questions emerging. That’s great because that will give you a more thorough self-evaluation.

Taking the mid-life exam will prepare us for the Final Examination!