Getting to grips with faith and Christianity can be difficult, but it helps to know some of the basics before embarking on a journey which can be fraught with mis-information and pot-holes.
Keep these FACTSS in mind as you either begin your walk with God or even if you're already a Christian, perhaps the FACTSS can help you enjoy an even better relationship with Jesus.
Re-learning The FACTSS of Life
- F. forgiveness
- A. adoration
- C. confession
- T. thanksgiving
- S. supplication
- S. spiritual warfare
F. Forgiveness
Before we even think about approaching God, we must forgive! If we can'r forgive others, how can we expect God to forgive us. If anyone has got a grievance with us, we have to sort it out first. We can't go before God knowingly with a problem we're not prepared to sort out (Matthew 18:21-35)
A. Adoration
God wants us to bring everything to him as an act of submission. Remember - "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps 46:10). As God, we must worship and adore our God as he is our Father, our creator. Paise, worship, adoration are all words that we, as business people don't feel particularly comfortable with, but in time you will understand the real meaning of these words.
C. Confession
We cannot go before God in sin. He is Holy and we cannot occupy that same "state", "room" or "area" as God. The two are so diametrically opposed that they can't exist together. But the supernaturalness of God means that if we repent (i.e. stop doing what is wrong and do a 180 degree about-face) and are genuinely sorry for our sins, God forgives us - "just as if I'd never done it - justified!
T. Thanksgiving
We must then thank him for what he has done in our lives, every little thing we take for granted, he must be thanked for as everything comes from him, yes everything, you're alive and reading this aren't you :)
S. Supplications
Then we make our supplications - through our spoken prayers and written requests, our petitions, I suggest using a journal, (1 Timothy 2:1)
It is written in Romans 4:17 - That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing.
We are told to let God know what we want. (He already knows what we need!) Our wants however must be lined up with his will. Wanting a Bentley is all well and good, however, does the Bentley line up with the will of God for your life. These are not riddles, they are specific instructions that we are to follow God’s will for our lives because he knows what is right for us and what will bring us the most joy and happiness. To learn the will of God for our lives is to understand the Word of God and the Word of God is the Bible.
S. Spiritual Warfare
Lest we forget, the bad stuff happens, not because God chooses to inflict pain in our lives, but because we live in a fallen world that is the domain of Satan and his cohorts.
We are called to engage in spiritual warfare, binding up the enemy so that we stop him from having an affect on and in our lives (Matthew 18:18)
There is the power of death and life in our words (Pv 18:21) ; we are to speak out that we're binding the works of the enemy against our given situation(s). (Matthew 16:19 - And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Conclusion
It is important that you attend a spirit-filled church and that you are prepared to be open to the teachings in the Bible. Many people think that they know all the basics but put on a self-depracating manner that infers they are being humble and really they do know it all. Beware of these wolves in sheeps clothing. Study and learn for yourself and test everything.
