Faith matters. There is no limit to what you can do in your life when you learn the basics of faith. And faith is not something that you try occasionally, it's not something that you pull out of your back pocket during emergencies to try to fix something. Faith is a way of life. Faith is not just a life-preserver used when you are drowning, it is your unsinkable battleship. Faith is not just simply having a positive attitude, having a positive attitude is a side-effect of having faith. And most of all, you can't have faith in God without the most important ingredient: Jesus. Many people will talk about faith, but they leave out who it revolves around. Jesus Christ himself. He is the reason we have faith. Hebrews 12:2 says, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Faith has to do with a living person, Jesus Christ. He is alive and well, He rose from the dead, and He sits at the right hand of God. He is your ticket to not just your True Purpose here on earth, but your ticket to hitch a ride to heaven. And simply put, our finite minds cannot fathom His power. We can try, but none of us can even begin to describe how great He is. He can make a planet hang in the universe, He can walk on water, He can tell the dead to live, and He can make the blind see. Ocean waves listen to His commands, and stars billions of light years away, shine because He says so. He is the opposite of hate and all things bad. He is The Creator of everyone and everything; and the very author of the word "love". He is our Father, and He is peace. And up until a couple years ago, I kept this to myself. My faith was simply "my own business". And I definitely didn't care about someone else's faith. Their faith was their business and they didn't need to hear from me. I was wrong; wrong because Christ lives in me and must speak through me. And another huge mistake I made was thinking that because I still messed up all the time, that I didn't have the right to talk about Jesus Christ or my faith. That too was wrong. We are all messing up, all the time. It's when you don't think you are doing anything wrong, that's when you are wrong. Christ will cover your sin, but you gotta admit that it is sin. And most of all, you simply cannot base the actions of your faith on somebody else's opinion of it. Don't worry about what other people say or what they will think; simply keep following God's plan for your life and let them think and say whatever they want. They have no heaven or hell to throw you into, and they can't bless you like God can. As far as people are concerned, you are never gonna be able to satisfy everyone. Silence, prayer, and time with God will not only clear your heart and mind, but it will get you centered again; it will get you refocused on what really matters: God's Will for your life through Jesus. People will always judge. People will always speak against you based on what they think. Don't worry about that. Forgive them, and move on. You have work to do and if you get stuck on worrying about somebody else's opinion of your faith, you will never get anywhere. Your faith is yours. God knows the exact shape of it, people don't, even when they are convinced that they do. And you must continue to hone your faith through Jesus Christ, daily. SEEK HIS WILL, NOT YOURS. You do this by trying to produce "good fruit." You must also have something to show for your faith. You can't just sit there, idle. What good is that? The bible says, "Faith without works is dead." (See James 2:17). Now, don't get this confused with God's grace and mercy for your life, or your salvation through Christ, that's free; but faith requires action. Because that action will change your heart, and help others to change theirs, into what God wants it to truly be. The Real You comes forth when you exorcize your faith daily. After all, what good is the love of Christ and The Good News if you simply keep it to yourself. YOU GOTTA DO SOMETHING. ANYTHING. ON A REGULAR BASIS, to bring glory and attention to Jesus Christ. Even if that means you get embarrassed. What's so bad about being embarrassed anyway, as long as it benefits Christ. Listen, once you have received Jesus in your heart, your next step is telling others about Him. Don't keep it to yourself. Get uncomfortable for Christ. The bible says, "What good is salt if it no longer tastes like salt?" (See Matthew 5:13). Friends, we are the salt of the earth. It's our job to be Christ's ambassadors and get the word out for Him; to let others know that we are all being prepared for something so much greater that we can even comprehend. HEAVEN IS REAL. And no matter how smart or intelligent someone thinks they are, they have NO CLUE as to just how great heaven will be. The bible says, "Eyes have not seen and ears have not heard, neither has it even entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him." ( 1Cor 2:9). And the best news is, all of this comes freely through believing in Jesus Christ; believing that He died for your sins so that you can walk up to God, completely clean, and 100% acceptable. That's faith. So today, my friends, go to church! Not for people, but for God. Don't just find time for God, make time. You can show your faith and dedication to your Creator by simply getting dressed and walking through church doors. Fellowship matters, praise matters, seeking His will for your life matters. These are all acts of faith. Don't sit still. Begin your life of faith today, with simple acts of dedication. When you do this, when you make your faith your lifestyle, you will not just change your day, you will change your life forever. HABD & GIG! -Matt {Facebook post from Alarm Security}