Knowing our identity in Christ is an essential aspect of being a christian and it plays a vital role in how we respond to difficult situations. This can be seen when we compare the story of Adam and Eve being tempted to the temptation Jesus experienced after his 40 days fasting. 

Adam and Eve's Temptation

In Genesis, the devil's selling point into tricking Eve to eating the fruit was that they will not die but it was because" God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” However in Genesis 1: 27 we saw that "God created human beings;he created them godlike,  Reflecting God’s nature."  In chapter 2:19 God also gave Adam the responsibility to name all that He had made in order to see what Adam would name them (something He would have not been able to do if he didn't have the wisdom and knowledge of God. "Whatever the Man called each living creature, that was its name." In order words, He named them all as God would have named them. 

From this we can see that Adam and Eve were deceived by the devil to doubt God and subsequently failed to trust that "He will not withhold any good thing from us". But most importantly, the key thing to be learnt here was the fact that they knew not their identity in Christ, because they were already like God in his nature and knowledge. Consequently, allowing the devil to deceive them into doubting God and their identity in God, they fell for the devil's lies which resulted in their spiritual death and being driven out of God's presence. 

Jesus' Temptation

In Matthew chapter 4 we saw that Jesus was tempted after his 40 days and 40 nights fast and as a result He was weak and very hungry. This was when the devil appeared to him to tempt him (at His most vulnerable point.) the Devil tempted Him by saying “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” secondly he said "If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down." And lastly, “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” 

Note that in the first two temptation, the devil started by saying "If you are the Son of God", thereby trying to get Jesus to prove himself , His identity that He truly is the Son of God. What most people may not realise is that this happened after the previous chapter Matthew 3 where the spirit of God descended onto Jesus in the form of a dove "And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” . In the same way, in Mark chapter 8:11 “Pharisees came forth, and began to question him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.”

However, Jesus knowing who He was, His identity (being the Son of God) He resisted and Overcame these temptations. Jesus knew that His identity was not based on His works therefore, owned no one a sign in order to prove that He was who He said He was. Moreover, all that the devil tempted Him with were things He already Had (in the same way, with Adam and Eve also.) Particularly where the devil promised to give Jesus the whole world knowing fully well that “All power is given unto me (Jesus)  in heaven and on earth.” Matthew‬ ‭28:18‬

Lesson to be learnt 

The lesson to be learnt here is that when we know our identity in Christ we do not fall for the traps and lies of the devil. Who are you in Christ?

1. You are the Apple of His Eye
2. His most priced possession
3. Bought at a very high price (the blood of Jesus)
4. A chosen Generation
5. His Royal priesthood

Knowing your worth and identity will help you when the devil tries to trick and deceive you into thinking that you need to earn God’s love through your works, you’ve sinned and as a result God is mad at you and you’ve gone too far this time to get God’s forgiveness. The truth is we didn’t choose God, He chose us and “neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:39 NIV

Your identify and worth can only be found in Christ, the Word and that is the only way you can overcome temptation and resist the devil.  Knowing your identity and worth will enable you to take charge over situations in your lives because you know who your father is, the power that you carry.

Positive thinking is when we approach challenges and situations we find ourselves in with an optimistic outlook. Positive thinking can be a powerful tool in helping to make the most of potentially bad situations. Anyone can become an optimist with the right attitude, but positive thinking is not faith. The one thing that can separate a person in Christ from an optimist is their faith.

In Hebrews chapter 11 the bible says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see". There’s a common saying that "seeing is believing", but that is not what God wants from us. God wants us to believe before we see, he wants us to have confidence and assurance that it doesn’t matter how bad the situation is because with Him all things are possible. Faith requires us to see beyond the physical circumstances and put our trust in God, it doesn’t require the situation to makes sense to us, it just requires us to believe.

Most of us believe in God and pray to him about difficult situations and yet we don’t back our faith with actions. You can’t say one thing and think another in your mind. There must be a complete synergy between our minds and the words we speak with our mouth. What we say must correspond with the picture we have in mind. We can’t have faith without conviction in the word of God neither can we claim to have faith if our words and action do not show it. This brings us to Genesis chapter 22 when God tells Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. He wakes up the next morning, gathers everything he will need for the offering and sets out with his son. And in verses 7 and 8 we get to experience the essence of Abraham’s faith, “7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?” Yes, my son?” Abraham replied. “The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”⁸ Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together”. It was as if Abraham had read Numbers chapter 14:28 “^So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say” before he left for the mountains.

Abraham did not only prove in this chapter that he feared God and had faith, but he also put that faith in action through his words. He didn’t just believe in his mind God was going to come through, he declared it out loud in faith because there’s power in the things we say and when we walk with God and talk in faith, He will not withhold anything good from us.  And as a result, he was counted as righteous because of his faith.

Having faith does not mean we ignore our problems wholly or act like they do not exist. But rather, it requires us to face the truth in our situation yet look past it and keep our eyes on God knowing that with him nothing is impossible. This can also be seen in Romans 4 where Abraham19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. 20Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

This is the kind of faith God requires from us. The only way in which our faith can be strengthened so that we might adopt a positive mental attitude can be found in Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

"If There is a God why is there so much suffering  suffering?" Is a controversial question that is asked by many but what they don't realise is that God does actually exist but He's a reality ONLY to those who have accepted, believe, obey and trust in him. Only people who genuinely know who God is by knowing, reading and obeying His word can comprehend His nature.

Following the "In the beginning- Genesis 1" blog post ( please it read first if you haven't in order to get a full understanding), we saw God's perfect plan and His intentions for the world  especially for humans. The last verse of Genesis chapter one (the creation) says "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." God created a world that was perfect, where there was light, no pain, no death and no struggle because it was all good and His presence was there. Reading on, in Genesis chapter two verse seventeen; “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Here we see the characters and personalities of God unravel. We see that God being as powerful as He is and being able to do whatever he can, he never enforces his plans on us. He always gives us a choice, advises us of which choice to make, warns us about the consequences, but then leaves us to follow the path that we choose to take. This is also evident in Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:19‬ where God says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. 

By giving Adam and Eve a choice, God gave them the ability to exercise free Will. Free will to either Obey and Trust in Him or choose their own path/destiny by eating the fruit. God did not want to force us to obey Him or limit us to doing the very things He created us for which was to serve him by loving others, showing kindness, showing mercy to others and doing the very things that pleases him. Rather, He wanted us to do all these (to Love Him) out of our own free will. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' Matthew 22:27. Using their free will, Adam and Eve opened the door for evil to enter the world and jumped out of the perfect state which God had placed them in. And in so doing, opened the world to sin and suffering, a consequence we are still experiencing now. As stated in Job 14:1 “Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.”

This tells us that for all of us suffering is inevitable however the end results for those who are in Christ are different to that of unbelievers. This is because for those in Christ there is always hope because "in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37. Romans 8:28 also "tells us that all things work together for good for them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose." From these two as well as many more scriptures in relation the promises made to those who experience suffering, they are all subject to "those who love the Lord". 

That brings us to the story of Job. A man who was described as  “blameless and “upright,” who feared the Lord and shunt evil" Job 1:1 and yet he still faced a lot of pain and suffering and lost everything he had. However, after he had endured all that suffering "the LORD restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before." This also tells us that good people are not exempt from suffering. 

Sometimes God also uses suffering to test our hearts, help us grow spiritually and to strengthen our faith and in the end we are rewarded for our endurance. ^"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."  James 1:12.
Following the story of Job, we see that God allowed Job's suffering as a way to test and strengthen his faith. This is seen throughout the Bible as God used various trials and tribulations to test and strengthen the faith of people who had chosen to follow His will for their-lives.

Verse to remember:
"When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." James 1:13-14

Genesis chapter two highlights God's character, God's principles, our choices we make and the consequences it carries with it as well as what we should look for in a person we wish to enter into courtship with or marry.

Following the last chapter of Genesis chapter 1 “Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!" We see that the first three verses of Genesis chapter 2 is an emphasis on God completing all His creations (all that he set out to do) both the heavens and the earth before resting. 

God declared His day of rest day, 'The Sabbath day' Holy not because it was the only day that we are to go to church, keep Holy or serve him but a day to be marked and remembered as it was the first ever day that He completed a good work He began, a day that everything He desired to create had been made. 

God is omniscient (all knowing) ,He knew that the creation of the heavens and the earth, was the first ever thing that he would complete.  This is due to the fact God knew that man would choose death over life and as a result sin would enter the world and that He would have to device a plan (Jesus Christ) to save us. This is why we can never be perfect but through grace which is a gift given through Christ, we are righteous and made right with God. Through Christ ( who was and is the Word) we are constantly being renewed, transformed and shaped into who God has ordained us to be. Note here I said "Constantly" which means ongoing until the return or the second coming of Christ. This explains Philippians 1:6; "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Following this, we see the second principle that God set; being that He will not rest until everything and everyone is good, that all His plans and purposes for our lives have come to past and that every bit of His Word has been fulfilled. This is evident in Matthew 5:18 where Jesus says “I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.” This can also be seen with Jacob in Genesis 28:13 when God first revealed Himself to him as the God of his grandfather Abraham and the God of his father Issac. Reading on, we see that God reveals his marvellous plans and purpose for Jacob and doesn't stop there but he throws in promises in verse 15 with the most important part being "I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything I have promised you.” Genesis 28:15. 

Thus explaining Genesis 2:2-3

Genesis 2: 16-17 NIV

“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

Here we see the characters and personalities of God unravel. We see that God being as powerful as He is and being able to do whatever he can, he never enforces his plans on us. He always gives us a choice, advises us of which choice to make, warns us about the consequences, but then leaves us to follow the path that we choose to take. This is also evident in Deuteronomy 30:19 where It says “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live”. 

Here we also see the first and most important choice that God ever gave man. This was to either obey and trust in God knowing that he knows what’s best for us or disobeying him and following our own path thinking we know what’s best concerning what life has to offer. 

Psalm 84:11 mentions that “The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.” Which is evident as God put two types of trees in garden; the "Tree of life" and the "tree of knowledge of good and evil yet the only thing he prohibited them from having was the tree of knowledge of Good and evil as it would cause them to die should they have it.

Genesis 2:18 

“Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

From Genesis 1 up until this verse, in all God created He said that “it was good”. Man was in the presence of God, had everything he needed; gold, animals, food etc. Yet God knew that was not enough because he needed a companion that was just right for him. This means that the person who you date/enter into courtship should be your helper. Their strength will complement your weakness and vise versa thereby helping you to grow as a person, draw you closer to God not further away and also help you to grow towards fulfilling your purpose and destiny in life.

Sometimes, we may feel tainted by our past and thus may deem ourselves unfit to be in the presence of God. But the flame of God's love is so pure and so perfect that it purifies our sins and our past indiscretions. His love heals from any pain or bad memories from our tainted past. God does not see our faults, He only sees through His pure, Holy and perfect love. And in His eyes, we are perfect.

The life of Apostle Paul epitomises God's unconditional love, as it shows that no one is beyond saving. Paul formally known as Saul was essentially a religious terrorist as he had been raised in a faith that did not allow him to compromise in his beliefs. In his mind he was serving and doing God's work whiles he was doing the opposite. And in doing so ended up viciously and ruthlessly prosecuting and killing innocent people. As stated in Acts 8:3 "But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison".

The most fascinating part of the story of Paul is that God chose to show his grace to him when he was at the apex of his extremism towards the early church. The account of Paul's first encounter with Jesus occurred on his way to Damascus as recorded in the book of Acts chapter 9. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem”.  On the road when he was about to get to Damascus, Saul was caught up in a light from heaven which caused him to fall face down on the ground. He hears the words, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” He says, “Who are you Lord?” Jesus answers directly and clearly, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”. He subsequently went on into the city and was later converted into a disciple of God and his name was changed from Saul to Paul.

Therefore, from this remarkable story of Paul we’ve seen that anyone can be transformed by the grace of God. He was literally transformed from a religious extremist into a chosen instrument who preached the name of Jesus to the Gentiles. Paul never had the chance to meet Jesus in person like his disciples did and he certainly didn’t have the opportunity to learn from Jesus like the Peters of this world and yet he went on to write many of the New Testament books. Most theologians agree that he wrote Romans, 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1^st and 2^nd Thessalonians, Philemon, Ephesians, Colossians, 1^st and 2^nd Timothy and Titus. This is what the saving grace of God can do.

The pharisees always wondered why Jesus would spend time and associate himself with "tax collectors and sinners", in other words people who the pharisees thought less of. And when they finally asked Jesus about it Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:31-32)

God does not call people who are perfect or worthy in the eyes of society. Instead he calls those we see as weak, unfit, broken and then he transforms them. As seen in the book of Roman 8: 29-30 " 29 For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn[b] among many brothers and sisters. 30 And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory". the Bible says that after he called, he gave them the right standing with himself. Therefore, God didn't call people who were qualified but instead he qualified the people he chose.

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

God requires us all to give thanks in all circumstances. One might say that it is easier said than done. However when we become mature in Christ and have a full understanding of Who God is and how He works, this becomes fairly easy. This is because understanding God more and developing a close relationship with God enables us to serve God for who He is rather than what He does for us or what He can give us.

What good is it to give thanks to God if we only do it when it suits us and when all is well with us?
Which is why we should remember that we are giving thanks IN the circumstance not for the circumstance

For prayer and reflection:
Dear Lord, please give me the courage to give thanks to you in whatever situation I may find myself.
Amen

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Most of the time we take for granted how patient and merciful God is with us each time we sin and fall short of his glory. God is always gentle, humble and patient with us despite our many flaws because of his love for us. As a result he expects us to do the same and cut others some slack just like he does for us so that they may also experience the love of God.



Prayer and reflection:

Dear Lord, in this week help me to be humble, gentle and bear with others in love just as you do for me. Give me opportunities where I will be required to be completely humble in order to be patient With others and when these opportunities come, remind me of this scripture and give me the strength to be able to put it into practice for your Glory. Amen!

Worship is essentially one of the basic foundations in the life of every christian. At some points in our lives, we've all worshiped in one form or another. But one may ask, what is worship? Most of us were raised to believe that worship is just a style of music. And our understanding of worship was simply what we do after praises before the preaching.. Our perception of the difference between praises and worship is merely just the pace of the music with worship being considerably less chaotic and more intimate than praises.

Until we realise that worship is way more than music, we will not be able to worship God in the way he wants us to. Everything we do at church is worship-preaching, bible reading, offering etc are all different forms of worship because they bring pleasure to God if they are done in truth and in spirit.

This brings us back to the question... What is worship that is true in the eyes of God?

In James 4:23-24 the Bible mentions that "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
This tells us that worship is far beyond music and just exalting God with our words. In Matthew 15:8 Jesus said "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Therefore, from here we can learn that worship predates music, preaching, offering or even church going. Worship is a lifestyle, and beyond the singing and dancing and our conventional understanding of what worship is. Worship is love, forgiveness,gratitude, how you treat people, being quick to listen and slow to anger, being generous,being humble etc. Worship is doing things as if you were doing it for Jesus, Worship is loving like Jesus.

Worship is any act that is done wholeheartedly which brings glory to God as in doing this, we let our "light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven".  Essentially worship isn't just a part of your life, worship is your life.
Worship is a lifestyle 

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm‬ ‭37:4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

To delight in the Lord means to take pleasure in Him and find fulfillment in Him. This also means  loving Him with all your heart,  doing what pleases Him and living according to His will. David said “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”. David compared to Saul was a man after God’s own heart because He took delight in God and he was rewarded for it. 

When we delight in the Lord, His desires and the things He takes pleasure in becomes Ours. As a result we begin to walk in His perfect will thereby having a sense of an unexplainable joy, peace, happiness and fulfillment deep within us. Life becomes more about God and less about us.

Prayer and Reflection:

Dear Lord, from today onwards help me to take pleasure in and to only desire the things that pleases you. So that all the desires of my heart will be fulfilled and I will be fully satisfied in you.
This I pray in Jesus name Amen! 🙏🏽

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭16:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One thing I've realised is that things don't usually go according to how I plan for them to turn out. Sometimes I make plans in my mind, pray and ponder over them before I set off to carry them out only for things to turn out unexpectedly, sometimes with outcomes which I didn’t even think were an option. It doesn't necessarily mean they turned out bad, it just means God had greater plans.

Prayer and reflection:

This week, as you set out to do your day to day activities each day, ask God to help you to remember that although you make your own plans in your heart and mind, it is Him who orders your steps. I pray that the Holy Spirit will continually remind you of this so that you will not be discouraged and will not lose faith when things, especially ones which you've vigorously prayed about in hope of how you wanted them to turn out doesn’t go as planned.

So as you go through your week, don't forget to seek the Lord first in everything that you do and always remember that “when my plans fail, God has greater ones for me".

Amen

In hospital pharmacy, we have something called medicine reconciliation. It is done by the ward pharmacist for every patient that is admitted to the hospital. It essentially involves taking an accurate list of the medication history of each patient before they were admitted to the hospital and comparing it to the medications they have been prescribed for by the doctor at the hospital. This is done because unintentional changes to medication regimens can lead to adverse drug effects which will harm the patient. The pharmacist needs to ensure that each medicine the patient brought from home matches the ones that has been prescribed and that the dose, frequency and route of administration have not been changed without a clinically valid reason thus ensuring continuity of care and avoidance of medication errors.

In the book of 2 John, the bible teaches us about living in love, truth and being mindful of people who aim to deceive us. In John 14:6, Jesus says “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. So, in this scripture we learn that Jesus is the truth and therefore we can cannot claim to live in truth if we don’t have Jesus in us. But also in John chapter 1 we learn that In the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. Further down in verse 14 we also learn that the word manifested into flesh, which was Jesus Christ. So how can we claim we live in truth and have Jesus if we don’t have the word? Therefore, from these scriptures we learn that the word is the truth and if we don’t know the word, we can’t claim to live in Christ. 

This is why we must set a time out every day (aside of our morning devotion) to read and meditate on the word of God for ourselves and develop our personal relationship with God. Because if God wants to speak to us it will be most likely through his word therefore, if we don’t spend time with God we’ll never know God and if we don't know God we will not be able to recognise his voice or hear him when he speaks to us. John 10:27-28 "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me."

The Bible also warns us to "beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep and but are really vicious wolves (Matthew 7:15)" and False messiahs and prophets who will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones (Matthew 24:24). However, if we know the word of God and develop a relationship with God by constantly reading His word and seeking out revelations for ourselves, we can easily discern between sermons that are not based on the word of God and ones that preach the truth as well as sign and wonders that are of God. Just as Jesus said that His sheep know His voice and follow him, we will be able to discern which prophets and sermons are of God based on what they preach about. Matthew 7:20 "Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them”. 
This is what I call scripture reconciliation, when we have an accurate list of the promises God has for us in the Bible, the commandments that has been set for us and an understanding and knowledge of the ways and works of God, we cannot be deceived by false prophets and their teachings. Because we can check the bible, read it and understand it for ourselves and in doing this; hear from God ourselves rather than relying on hearing from God through others (pastors and prophets). Therefore, we should be vigilant, hold on to our faith and his word.  By doing this, we ensure that no one can snatch us away from his presence.

The main difference between people isn’t the problems we face but it is how we interpret and respond to our problems.

“The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Here’s an example:

A shoemaker wanted to open a shoe shop in a particular town. In order to find out if the people in the town would be interested in buying his shoes, he sent out 2 people to the town to find out.When they both went to the town, they realised that not a single person in that town wore shoes. They then returned and both reported back to the shoemaker.

The first persons's report was that it would impossible to sell shoes in that town due 
to the fact that not a single person there wore shoes which means that no one would be interested in buying his shoes. Therefore, it wouldn’t be beneficial to him to open a store in that town.

The second person who was sent to the same town came back so excited to give the shoemaker the good news. His report was that he needs to open a shoe shop in the town as soon as possible and having a shop in that town would be a huge advantage because the people in that town are in need of shoes as not a single person was seen wearing shoes.

From this story we can tell that they both saw the same thing which was the fact that the people in the town wore no shoes. However, the only difference was the interpretation that was given to the situation which was whether the fact that the people wore no shoes was a problem or a possibility.

My question to you is that as you face up to life do you see problems or possibilities?

Most of the time when we face problems, we become overwhelmed and let them completely take over our mind. In doing so, we make the problem seem bigger than the God we serve and we forget that we serve a God who can do the impossible (in other words we lose faith in God). However the Bible has made it clear that it is our faith that moves God to take control and in Matthew 17:20 we are told that “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Be moved’ and it will be moved. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Mountains signifies problems, obstacles and anything in our lives which are out of our control. Therefore 
by having even the slightest faith, we should be able to command the problems to move out of our lives and truly and indeed they shall be moved. Also,we are told by God In John 16:33 that “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If we take hold of this word no matter what problem we face , we will not be overwhelmed by it and as a result; we’ll be able to see past the problem and rather see the possibilities.

Being a born again doesn’t mean we won’t face problems but it means that God will help us and be with us every step of the way. Being a born again also means that we need to change the the interpretation we give to things and we can start by starting to see problems as possibilities because problems can only have an impact on our lives if we let it. Therefore when we face problems, although it may be hard and easier said than done, we should try and look at the possibilities in the problems by putting our complete faith in God knowing that “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all (Psalms 34:19 KJV)” and also that “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose Romans 8:28 KJV”. 

So when we face problems, to make it easier to see the possibilities and to get through the problems rather having sleepless nights and thinking about the problems all the time; we should turn it all over to Our creator knowing that He will come to our rescue. In order to do this we need to continually read the word of God to build and stair up our faith. By doing this, each time we face problems we'll remember case studies or situations that people such as Job, Joseph, David and many others faced and how God turned their problems into possibilities. The Holy Spirit uses the word of God to comfort us and to lift up a standard against our problems or anything that comes up against us. 

Life brings problems HOWEVER in those same problems lies possibilities. We can either choose to focus on the problem or the possibilities but our choices are determined by the level of faith we have in God.Every impossibility is an opportunity for God to demonstrate His glory and power, therefore let go and let God.  

God has a strong purpose for allowing us to go through every situation. Therefore, when we are not afraid to trust Him completely, He blesses us in an unusual way. In ways which people around us can't understand and frankly speaking even we ourselves are not  able to comprehend. This is when God is truly working in our lives because His understanding is unreachable. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Prov. 3:5-6

The story of Job is one of the most peculiar pieces of biblical literature not only because it explores some of the most earnest questions we ask about our lives and God's presence in it but also demonstrates the mystifying nature of God. Job is a wealthy man living with his large family, extensive flocks and had many servants. The Bible says, " This man was blameless and upright, he feared God and shunned evil". One day, Satan appeared before God in heaven and God bragged about Job's righteousness and how there's no man like him on earth. But Satan argued that Job feared God only because God had "always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property". Satan then challenged God that, if given permission to test and take away everything which God has blessed him with, Job will turn and curse God. God then allowed Satan to torment Job to test this bold claim, but he forbade Satan to from taking Job’s life in the process. When we read further in the Bible, we find out that  Satan put Job through a series of events that tested his faith in God in the most mind blowing way even beyond the capacity of his own understanding. And throughout the process, he lost his children, wife, flocks and all his wealth. Job lost everything us humans would associate with or use measure up how blessed someone is by God. His friends questioned his goodness and his character and raised concerns about whether he is indeed “blameless and upright” which is ironic because unknowing to Job and his friends, both God and Satan did in fact view him as “blameless and upright” hence why his afflictions was a result of a contest between them. Even though job questioned God about why he was going through so much trouble, he never faltered in his faith in God. Amid his pain, he worshipped, praised and prayed and declared how mighty and powerful God is. 

The Bible says in Job 1:21-22 “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away, may the name of the Lord be praised. ²² In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing”. So even when he lost everything, he never lost his greatest asset- he was still not afraid to trust God completely(Faith).

The story of Job shows us that we should never let an impossible situation demotivate us but instead to let it motivate us to trust more, to believe more, to learn more and to grow more, James 1:3 "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow". Today’s impossibilities can become tomorrow’s miracles. There’s power in prayer and faith so instead of worrying about how difficult everything seems, we should just talk to God about it through prayer. Faith is willing to risk failure to live a righteous life and believe that God has great plans for our lives even when we don’t understand what that plan is. Real faith puts its trust in God completely and does not demand a guarantee of a miracle because God’s timing is always perfect and at his appointed time, you’ll see the glory of his plan in your life.

The story of Job also shows that God rewards us greatly when we trust and have faith in him as Job 42:10 says “the Lord restored his fortune. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure”. Always remember that’s God’s plan will not always make sense but when we worry less and pray more, everything works out for good because by doing this, we set our eyes on God thereby making God bigger than the problems we have.  Always remember that God will restore us just like he did for Job no matter what we go through and "yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later". Romans 8:18

The book of Genesis chapter 1 consists of the:
 Principles set by God, the power of our words, the importance of the spirit of God, God's creation, perfect plans and His intentions for the earth and us.

The word "Genesis" mean "The beginning" and as a result contains significant information concerning the origin of all things and explains how everything came into existence.
The first 4 letters in chapter one, verse 1; "In the beginning God" indicates that before everything else (time, space, and matter) came into existence, There was God. This truly shows the power of God due to the fact that the Theory of evolution starts with "The Big Bang" without being able to explain where The Big Bang came from whereas the Bible starts way before that. From this, it can be argued that only the Bible is able to give an account of where original matter, space and time came from.
Following this, we see that God is so wise and powerful that the first chapter and verse; before anything else was said, states who He is which is "The creator of the Heavens and the Earth" thereby establishing his authority, might and power over the earth. Based on this we see that God was there before time began therefore shutting down all other including scientific claims as to how the earth came into existence.

Verse two and three highlights the importance of having the Spirit of God and even prioritized that over the power in/of our words as the Bible states that "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters AND THEN God said "Let there be light and there was light".
This exemplifies the significance of allowing the spirit of God to move in our lives because without this, our words carry no power due to the fact that even before God SPOKE his word into existence, He made his spirit move. The Bible tells us that "our tongue has the power of life or death" and also that "our confession brings our possessions."
From this we can learn that when things aren't right or the way we want it to be, rather than dwelling on it or talking about it, we can take action by speaking positively about what we want into existence.  Just like when God saw that the earth was empty, formless and full of darkness He didn't dwell on it but instead allowed His Spirit to move and then He created light to exceed the darkness.

In verse 4, we see the first principle that was set by God and this can be seen where he set the light apart from the darkness thereby establishing the principle that light and darkness can never mix. This is because the light was good and was of God. Note here that the light which verse 4 is talking about isn't the sun, the moon nor the stars or any other source of light. But rather this kind of light was to overcome the darkness thus bringing life into a world which was empty, formless and full of darkness. As born again Christians we are to "let our light shine for all to see"  to the extent where a clear difference can be seen between us and people of the world thereby bringing peace where there is chaos, joy where there is sadness, healing to the sick and hope where there is none  “For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true.” Psalms‬ ‭111:7‬ says "all He does is just and good" and also "God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all” (1 John‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭‬‬).
Because there is no darkness in God, as His children there must be no darkness in us too. Which is why we are to choose light or darkness and can't be shades of grey as Jesus said if you are "like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!". Another reason why we are told in John “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them” due to the fact that the world is full of darkness which is not of God.

Verse 26: “Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us."
Who else was God referring to when He said "Let us"???
Again, the first 4 words of verse one which was "In the beginning God" already identified that God was there from the very beginning. The verse 2 also made known that the Holy Spirit was there as it stated that "the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters". Making that the second person.
The third person can be seen in the book of John chapter 1:

The whole of John chapter one reveals Jesus to be not only the Word which was made flesh but also that He was there at the very beginning even before the creation. This can be seen in verse 14; “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Beholding Jesus as the word explains His lifestyle on earth. The Bible says that "Everywhere He went He was doing good" which can be linked back to Genesis Chapter one, as the heavens and the earth was created through the power of God's word (refer to John 1:3) and “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭1:31‬.