What is Faith?

What is Faith? Is the 1st in a series of Articles on Bible Faith and How it does and does not works!

Faith is information that we get from God for us to act upon.

This (faith) information shows us in advance what God will do about a given issue before He does it. This information also shows us in advance what our part is in this future activity of God. In other words, God not only shows us in advance what He is about to do, He shows us in advance what He wants us to do with Him in this given future activity.

Take the case of Noah as an example. God showed Noah in advance everything about the Flood and its consequences. He also showed him in advance what his (Noah’s) part was in this future undertaking. He showed him that He wanted him to build an ark as well as what kind of wood to use. He also showed him how high, how long and how wide to build it. He showed Noah in advance about the animals etc. This advance information is what the Bible calls "faith."

Just about all the faith, religion/religious faith, word of faith, Christian faith, faith works and faith in God teachings and movements fail to see this. They fail to see that faith is advance information. Instead of a strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny or an abstract thought or concept that is or cannot be defined or understood.

What is the Difference in "Faith" and "Believe?"

What is the Difference in "Faith" and "Believe?" Is the 2nd in a series of Articles on Bible Faith and How it does and does not works!

"Faith" is information. Information is a "noun." Faith is a noun that tells us what we have. Believe, on the other hand, is a verb. Believe is what we do. Believe is acting upon our faith or our advance information.

"Believe", in the Bible, does not happen just between our ears. Believe is not just agreeing mentally with what God said in a scripture. Believe, in the Bible sense, is acting out what is contained in the "if" part of our advance information. To put it differently, Noah acted out his part (building the ark etc.) of the advance information God gave him. (As we have seen already, this advance info is what the Bible refers to as faith.)Finally, most of the faith, religious faith, word of faith, Christian faith, faith works and faith in God teachings and movements fail to make the above distinction. Again, they are flawed to the extent they do not see this distinction.

Faith is not a Strong belief. So it is not enough to believe; we must also do. Therefore, the Bible Faith is "Believing in God's Word, and Acting on that Belief." Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

How Does Faith Work?

How Does Faith Work? Is the 3rd in a series of Articles on Bible Faith and How it does and does not works!

Bible faith is usually an "If - Then" proposition.

In the advance information we get from God, there are thing(s) for us to do. "If" we do it, "Then" God will do what He declared in our advance information. For instance, God showed Noah that he would "save his house" provided he built the ark according to the advance warning (information/faith). To put it differently, Noah would not have saved his house had he not acted upon the information he received from God. Acting upon our information is called "believe" in the Bible.
Again, most of the faith, religion/religious faith, word of faith, Christian faith, faith works and faith in God teachings and movements fail to clearly see the "if - then" aspect. Their systems of thinking and philosophies are bankrupt to the extent that they leave out this vital element. Faith is not a Strong belief—such as, “If I believe in something strong enough or hard enough, then it will happen or come to past.”

Faith works by us doing our part.

"The Just shall live by faith."
Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38.

Core Healing

CORE HEALING: The Resolution of the Original Sources of our Issues thereby relieving ourselves of the Baggage we carry throughout our lives.

Core Healing is resolving the issues that are at the core of our daily problems. The Core Healing that I am referring to is based partly on my understanding and application of Dr. Ed M. Smith’s Theophostic Prayer Ministry (TPM) and also on my many (50-plus) years of experience on this earth dealing with life’s issues. A major pivotal point on my journey to healing came on Wednesday, May 31, 2006 in the afternoon while reading an article entitled, “Where to Now? Women as a Mission Field” by Diane Langberg published in the magazine, Christian Counseling Today. [1] 2005 Vol. 13 No. 3 (pgs. 50-54). As I was reading the article the tears started streaming down my face, a sure sign of “healing”. The article started with the statement: “In the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world, being born female is still something of a risk.” It goes on to state that 20 centuries ago female babies were considered a liability. Female infanticide was not uncommon. And that baby girls were often considered the equivalent of deformed and were killed by exposure. I t was permitted by law to leave them outside the city on the dung (animal manure) heap to die. If that isn’t considered “worthless” human life, then I don’t know what is. But there were people who went against the mainstream culture and went outside the gates, risking their lives to rescue the abandoned babies. The article asked, “Who were these people?” And then it goes on to answer: They were the Church—the body of Christ. They followed the Lamb who went outside the city gates to make the ultimate sacrifice and give His life in ransom for many who were deemed worthless. By His death, He judged them to be precious. This was the answer I had been looking for! This was the final piece to the puzzle, a puzzle (issue) that had haunted me all of my adult life. So needless to say by now the tears were almost uncontrollable.My Issue: I had always had an issue with the Bible and Women. And no preacher, teacher, counselor, pastor, or prophet had been able to satisfactorily explain the position of; view of; and in general; women and women’s issues in the Bible to me. That unresolved issue had been the primary source of my emotional baggage throughout my adult life. I could never accept the explanations given to me by preachers, pastors (usually men), counselors, or people in general about women’s positions, purpose, and roles in life. I had discovered that the only person who could answer these questions satisfactorily for me was the Creator—the Ultimate Father. I had always had an issue with how women were sub-classed in the Old Testament. The fact that they had practically no rights and were usually treated as less valuable than men. And throughout history this same sub-classness has continued. I had issue with how a Creator of life who said He loved all of His creation the same but allowed this type of treatment towards his creation (women) to continue. So needless to say, I had issues and questions that needed to be answered in order for me to do the work that I was put here to do. Since I had already learned that man has a will that the Creator will not violate. The article put things into perspective for me. Man has choices he can make, and most of the time those choices are self-serving and in total disregard to some. Whether it puts women in second or sub-class status or people of different races, beliefs, or cultures in those categories, these were choices and decisions made by men. It was not intended to be this way in the beginning.The article goes on to state that by and large the evangelical community in this country has primarily focused on women surrounding the issues of ‘roles and place.’ Being overly concerned that women not overstep whatever boundaries a particular circle deems right and focusing on keeping females in their “right” place. All the while girls and women of this world are dying on the dung heaps while money is poured into mega-churches and sound systems. But the true principle that was laid down by Christ is: as you leave your world and go out of yourself in order to give yourself to others, you return exponentially richer than before. He is the One who set forth the principle by leaving His world and going out of Himself in order to give Himself to others. He returned home exponentially richer than before. He is richer because He has us—we who were deemed “worthless” and abandoned on the dung heaps to die—our rescue became His glory. (Amen!)Minnie Hayes Patmon-McLaurin

"Suspicions Confirmed"

My suspicions were confirmed recently as to why so many churches and people in churches are having the same problems that people not in church have. I was recently talking to a pastor, we were discussing our professions. He was telling me how after years of being a pastor he hit a brick wall, he reached a "burn-out" point. He realized that the reason that this happened was because of some issues that he had not resolved in his past.In my profession as a faith-based counselor, I understand that unresolved issues carry over into our professional as well as personal lives. While in Seminary classes, I was taught that your unresolved issues will be transferred to your clients. So it is important to first of all recognized that you do have issues and to get them resolved before you begin helping others.In the case of the pastor, when he hit the brick wall, that is when he started his journey to resolving his issues. His main issue was that when it came right down to it, "He did not believe that God would be there for him." This has always been a suspicion of mine about Christians in general. I reached that conclusion about a year ago, when I started my journey towards my destiny of starting a non-profit and becoming a faith-based or "Christian Counselor". I realized that the reason so many Christians have so many problems, is because they do not believe what they profess to believe. The majority of Christians read the Bible as if it were a mere history book about an ancient civilization. The connection that they have with God is through a pastor or minister. And that is where the problem begins. Because if you have pastors and ministers who do not fully understand God's purpose for them and believe that He is able to do what He says He can do, that "issue" of doubt and unbelief will carry over into the ministry. And that group of people which are under that pastor will be exposed to the same "issue" as the pastor and will not be able to grow and experience God as was intended. Therefore you will have a lot of Christians having all of the same problems that non-Christians or non-faith people are having.
Minnie Patmon-McLaurin