The 3 F's

The 3 F’s

When we look at this time we are living in, it really makes us feel low and uncertain. At one side we have a pandemic that is ravaging the earth then on the other side we have the other usual suspects i.e.

1)     Terrorism

2)     Hatred

3)     Natural Calamities

4)     Economic Meltdowns

5)     Modernism

This is just to name a few but they do have a formidable effect on us. Below are a few to get us started with own human nature

1)     Worry – What is going to happen?

2)     Uncertainty – How am I going to survive?

3)     Insecurity – Will I go to heaven?

4)     Fear – How do I tackle this situation

I am quite sure that we all have gone through these feelings at some point or another. The flabbergasting point is that all the above and rooted and centralised to one single flaw we have as Christians and that is Unbelief or lack of faith. In these dark times we suddenly feel that our faith in stretched and feel enfeebled as though there is huge weight on our shoulders. I for one have even stopped watching the news so as to prevent my mind to get further infected with the current affairs of the world. As humans we tend to worry mainly because we don’t believe that our God can get us through. I believe these situations we face are mere testers of our faith.

So then comes the big question, how do I get though this without giving into worry?

A while ago I was going through a devotional which had a deep impact on me and really started to make me ponder and question my faith. I call them the 3 F’s of life. Believe me following this simple truth will make wonders in your life. Below are the 3 F’s

1)     Fact

2)     Faith

3)     Fruition

A)      Fact – the whole thing about the truth starts with knowing the truth. Below are some verses from the bible that mirror this point

(i)               John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. ... For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life

(ii)              2 Timothy 1:7 - For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

(iii)            1 Corinthians 10:13 - No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

(iv)            John 8:32 - Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

(v)              James 4:7 - Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The above verses bring some powerful and life changing facts

1)     God loves us unconditionally

2)     The spirit of God gives us power

3)     Getting tempted is common

4)     We should know the truth

5)     Submit to God to resist the Devil

If we now meditate deeply on the above scripture, we see new facts being revealed on the same verses

1)     God loves us unconditionally. If we need eternal life, we will need to Believe in his son. Even though we will perish we will have eternal life. (Lord Jesus is key here)

2)     The spirit of God gives us power, love and self-discipline so if we need these traits we will need to Believe in the spirit of God. Holy Spirit is key here

3)     Getting tempted is common. To ensure that we can resist the temptation that comes in our way we need to Believe in God. He will provide a way for you which will ensure safety. God is the key here

4)     We should know the truth. The only way to know the truth is to Believe on his word and in turn which will give us the strength to live a godly life. The Word of God is the key here

5)     Submit to God to resist the Devil. The devil will always try to lure us into a world that does not exist but when we submit to God, he gives us the spiritual strength to resist the devil. One key fact here is that if we resist the devil, he will flee

Key to the fact is believing in the below

(i)               God

(ii)              Jesus Christ

(iii)            Holy Spirit

(iv)            Word of God

These are the basic facts that we need to know. Knowing these facts will impregnate a feeling of belonging to Christ our Lord. The most important way of knowing the facts is to read and meditate on the word of God. Meditating on the word of God is not just reading the bible as a story book but to feast on it. If you have seen how a cow chews grass you will see that it first chews it and the takes it out of its mouth and then chews it again, this process ensures a higher intake of nutrients. So, if we mediate on the word of God, we will also ensure that we are ingesting all the important spiritual nutrients in our spirit. Once we get acquainted with the facts, we get emboldened by his word living in us to follow the next step and that is Faith

B)     Faith – The bible defines Faith very clearly in Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Easier said than done some of us might say. If we go deeply in the verse, we get 4 very important traits of Faith

1)     Confidence – Confidence is a distinguishing factor from non-believers. Confidence is a belief we have on something or someone we trust. If I am confident, I have done my revisions I will go for my exams with trust else I will go with fear and worry.  For the unbelievers their confidence as mentioned in the bible is in Money, False Gods, Luck Charms, Humans etc., still they don’t get to being happy because they all deceive and most importantly they all are temporary which means the happiness they provide is short lived and in the end we end up even worse than we were. But if our confidence comes from the Lord above then we will always be happy and content because he will never leave us or forsake us. His word endures forever. Below are 2 verses that accentuate his eternal nature

Hebrews 13:5 - Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you

Psalm 119:89 - Your word, LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.

When our confidence is on God who is eternal, we will see that our Faith also becomes unshakeable

2)     Hope – Hope is one of greatest gift God had given us. Without hope we can’t go on in our walk with God. By hope we latch onto God and his promises which never change. It keeps us from wavering from our track and keeps is focused on his word. Eyes on the prize as they say it.

3)     Assurance – Assurance is seal is that what God said he will do. How would we feel when we go for our exams and the person taken the exams assures us that we will get an A. It will make us so joyous because we know the end result. With God we have the eternal assurance if that if we follow his ways we will certainly go to Heaven. Isn’t that the best assurance we can ever get? Once we are assured it give us a sense of peace and happiness because we know where are going if we obey his commends and cautions us simultaneously that we better obey his commends. The best assurance we have in the Bible is from John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. ... For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life

4)     What we do not see (Intangible) – 1 Corinthians 2:9 says However, as it is written: "What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived" -- the things God has prepared for those who love him--. For us humans it is hard to believe in someone we have not seen let alone bet our life on it. That’s why God has given us Faith which gives us to courage to press on. One of the greatest example of this is the Apostle Paul, in Philippians 3:14 he says I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul suffered a lot for the cause and he did all for the prize which was an upward call something that is intangible

Faith will play a major part in our success as Christians. Faith is what keeps us going on when all we want to do is give up. I have personally seen this happen many times in my life. Our faith becomes so situation dependent; situations are good and our faith seems to fly off in thin air but when things go awry suddenly, we see ourselves crying out to God and becoming Holy Joes thinking that by our excess meditation we will please God. Faith never depends on our predisposition it is depends on our God who is unchanging. We tend be good starters but are bad finishers mainly because weak faith in God. We decide we will read the word of God every day and then suddenly we see that fizzle out, Why? Because we are not deep rooted in his word. Our faith in God is only what will pull us through. The more we pull through, the more the devil will attack and inflict us (See the life of Job) but in the end who perseveres is the one who will win the eternal prize that Paul was talking about. James 1:12 tells us Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. So for our Faith to be ever strong and all increasing irrespective of situations it needs to have Confidence, Hope, Assurance & Intangibility

C)     Fruition – when we exercise the Facts and Faith in our life, we will see the fruition it brings in our life. Fruition comes primarily when our Faith is backed up with deeds / obedinece. James 2:26 says For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

(i)               Fact is like knowing the narrow path

(ii)              Faith is like walking on the narrow path

(iii)            Fruition is like achieving the eternal prize

The 3 are so intertwined that none of them can exist independently as they are so intertwined. Fruiting is the culmination of the Fact and our Faith. Fruition is finishing the line on a positive note. How do we know if our faith is leading into fruition? If we read Galatians 5:22 it clearly states the fruits of the Holy Spirit namely

(i)               Love

(ii)              Joy

(iii)            Peace

(iv)            Faithfulness

(v)              Kindness

(vi)            Gentleness

(vii)           Longsuffering

(viii)          Self-Control

If we see the above fruits growing in our life, we can be rest assured that our Faith has reached the fruition phase. Basically, Faith with obedience is Fruition

Faith without obedience is being powerless and Obedience without faith is being idealistic. Obedience is not a one-time operation it is something we need to do continually to be victorious. As Christians we know that we have the victory in Christ Jesus but maintain the victory in our life is what makes the difference. And many of us find it hard to maintain it due to the loopholes in our faith. Every time we let our faith down, we crucify our Lord again and again. Fruition is what will make us Consistent Christians from mere Christians. If we read Mark 9:50 it says Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? In the same way Christians are good, but if they lose their faithfulness, how can they be faithful again?

In our daily walk with God we will face a lot of challenges that will try to hinder our faith and keep us from God’s choices blessings. God is always there trying to reach out to us and assure that he is there. But we humans get caught up in this materialistic world that enamours us into deviant ways, this is what we need so oppose. Pauls says in

(i)               Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things

(ii)              Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

As I close, I just want to motivate you that we have God who is victorious, he is ever kind and merciful. We have can always rely on him and he will never let us down. He has given us the victory by dying on the cross for us. It is our duty as his children to maintain this victory by knowing the facts, having the faith and having it in fruition but backing our faith with deeds / obedience. Let’s obliterate all our unbelief with the 3 F’s and you will see that in all situations you will always be happy and content. Amen