Mindset For Success

How will I know if I am living by faith? Living a life of faith emanates from a heart that understands that; all I am, all I have, and all that I aspire to be, are gifts from the Creator of the Universe. It is by His grace, mercy, and power alone that I will achieve anything of eternal value in this life. There is nothing that I have done or will do to earn the grace, mercy, and power that the Sovereign God has chosen to bestow upon my life. As such, my response to that undeserved gift is to present my life as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is my spiritual service of worship. Before justification and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, the unregenerate heart is unable to understand or execute life in this way. Therefore, it is only through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit that a true Christ-follower can achieve a life of faith that is acceptable to God. To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will consider you worthy of your calling, an

 "Look at the proud one, His soul is not right within him, But the righteous will live by his faith [in the true God]. - Habakkuk 2:4 (Amplified Bible) Is my life characterized by an unyielding faith in God for the strength and wisdom to execute His plan for my life each day, or the reliance on my own wisdom and methods to make life's decisions?  In contrast to the proud, those reliant on their wisdom to execute life, the true Christ-follower, having died to self at the point of justification, will execute life in faithfulness to God and total reliance on the indwelling Holy Spirit for each step of this life. Faith is not a one-time act but a way of life. The true believer, declared righteous by God, will persevere in the faith as their life pattern through sanctification. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, "The j

This is His commandment that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, just as He commanded us. The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and following His precepts, abides and] remains in Him and He in him. By this, we know and have the proof that He [really] abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us [as a gift]. - 1 John 3:23-24 (Amplified Bible) 1. Faith ...that we believe [with personal faith and confident trust] in the name of His Son Jesus Christ... Is my faith in Jesus Christ like a parachute used only in times of an emergency, or is it like oxygen to my physical body in that I cannot execute life or take the next step without it? 2. Love ...and [that we unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another... Do I unselfishly love and seek the best for others? 3. Obedience The one who habitually keeps His commandments [obeying His word and

And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you]. - Romans 12:2 (Amplified Bible) 1. A growing desire for God's Word Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. - John 17:17  These are the words that Jesus prayed to God the Father while on the earth regarding those chosen by God, predestined, and entrusted to Christ, the Savior of the World. As a Christ-follower, that prayer was prayed for you that you would progress in your faith from being saved, justified, to ever increasing in Christ-likeness, sanctification. Do I make the reading of God’s Word a daily priority? 2. A proactive obedience to God’s Word. But Samuel answered, “Which pleases the