Faith in Life

This is the most important part of the Life Plan because it deals with the big picture of our lives on this Earth and our Eternal lives. If you were to die today, where do you think you would be going in your Eternal life, Heaven or Hell?

Faith can be, and is for most, a very important part of a person’s life, whether it is directly through religion or as a good living Atheist. A Christian Pastor once said Faith goes together with Hope and Love. So Faith on its own needs other elements.

Faith can be ‘personal, spiritual and religious’. Usually it is a combination of the three. ‘Personal’ is how we treat ourselves and others and is our conversation with the Eternal Realm and God. ‘Spiritual’ is how we go about our daily lives and how ‘life is a prayer’ and has different degrees of spirituality, either directly or indirectly, for example, directly through meditation and exercises like Yoga or indirectly through one’s daily Activities (refer to Activities).

‘Religion’ can be a sensitive issue for some yet it provides an important foundation for one’s worldly and spiritual life. Going through the different rituals and procedures of one’s religion is like positive affirmations and creates routine and structure to one’s like. Even wonders and miracles can be performed through Religion that can leave people in society and the world baffled and amazed, for example, those in science and medicine. One cannot deny the existence of a presence in the world that keeps things together and functioning. Some call it God, others similar things.

There are a number of subjects to be discussed in relation to Faith:

1. Different religions and cultures.

As the saying goes, ‘we are one, but we are many’. This applies to different religions and cultures in our world. There is the microcosm, us as belonging to a certain religion and culture and society, and the macrocosm, of us being human beings.

One has to understand we are not like the animals that do not have much of a brain and conscience like human beings. Yet some people act as if they are animals in today’s world.

There are the religions of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Black Magic and Atheism. There are Christian sayings, ‘there are many roads that lead to Rome’ and ‘there are many mansions in the Father’s house’. What this is saying is that we are different and we will take different paths in life. But there is a final destination, a better place to be, if people allow it. Some call it Heaven, others Paradise. Yet when properly questioned, there is a sense of doubt and hesitation if the person really wants to go to Heaven or should be there.

There is another Christian statement, ‘we are pilgrims in this life on a journey home’, and guess where home is, you guessed right, Heaven. What a powerful statement, and some who have no religion, do not practice their religion or have been left ignorant, would not be aware of such information. Whether you believe in Jesus or God or not, if you are from other religions, it is about coming back to your rightful home in Heaven, or a better place to be.

2. Societal and Spiritual Figures

There are people in the world who give the wrong impression about the world and God, and one must be aware of this. It is true God is more knowing and powerful than us and that power, through certain societal and spiritual figures, can be shown and experienced incorrectly.

It can even be the people close to us who can do it, for example parents, teachers, bosses and managers at work, politicians and the media. All these people can at times lead us down the wrong path, but at least the attempt is to be proper role models, and this often can occur. It is true, no one is perfect, and from the Christian perspective, we are sinners. But, despite being sinners themselves, it is the good and strong among us who must rule over the bad otherwise there would, at some stage, or eventually, be chaos. An example of this is a Priest or Pastor in Church who is deemed to be Holy to lead the congregation of parishioners and mass.

A good example is the viewpoint of the ‘Father’. The Father is usually termed to be either the societal father or the spiritual father. Usually, the everyday people in society have a good or developing blend of worldly and spiritual knowledge, wisdom and power. Those who are particularly good or make themselves known can sometimes be called ‘healers’ or ‘in the spirit’. This has positives and negatives because positively, sometimes these people know more than the societal and spiritual figures, but negatively because some of the information they provide needs to be filtered as it is subjective and personal.

On one side is the societal father, or figure. Sometimes our own father at home can be a societal, and spiritual, figure, but if he is a proper role model. He would usually have a blend of worldly and spiritual information and spirit. The societal figures out there have some knowledge and wisdom, but might also have some bad elements, habits or vices, such as smoking, drinking or drugs, sex and violence. These poor, weak or negative elements can detract the example this figure, and other figures give.

Some people do not know the connotations of such a father figure. Usually such figures come with expectations that can involve responsibility yet also danger. It is the physical side that can be dangerous, for example, being brought into the supernatural or violence. Offering knowledge, wisdom and power is a positive thing of what these figures can offer. Some people in society usually use these societal figures, especially some bad ones, as examples for their own agenda. These people tend to be Devil-like, weak, negative or ignorant. There system is used, and sometimes, and even usually, has never been questioned or brought into analysis.

It is usually these individuals, as well as those who are not religious or do not practice a religion, who push unaware people into joining a higher role in a religion or spirituality, such as becoming a Priest or Pastor with the person becoming the religious figure sometimes lacking a proper, deeper, whole and heartfelt knowledge and understanding of what they are doing; they just believe the figure in question. Please be aware of this.

These people behind this may sometimes do not want to hear spiritual or religious information from people and are usually unprepared to take in such information. They do not know the person who is spiritual and or religious is actually being equipped to deal with their Faith and life in general, or is aiming to pass on some proper wisdom and knowledge, which can be undertaken incorrectly or poorly. An example is being called a ‘Preacher’ for attempting being spiritual and or religious.

This is where spirituality and religion come in because on your own, unprepared individuals come across these societal people and figures and have negative experiences. It is sometimes being traditional with the thinking of previous generations, who did not know or have what we have today, for example, People Skills and Personal Development, Internet and Counselors and Pastors. An example is following in your father’s or parents’ footsteps with a profession or job and having poor lifestyle choices such as a diet and exercise. There is also the modern thinking of relaxed moral values and a fast-paced of life. Although this has been how life is for some people, it has been said to cause some negative circumstances.

Then there is the spiritual adviser, such as a Priest in Christianity, Hinduism or Buddhism, a Pastor in Christianity, or an Imam or Sheikh in Islam, or a good role model among family and friends or a community and society. Although meaning well, a lot of these spiritual figures have been trained a certain way or along a certain path, and sometimes have been educated not to provide a solution to someone’s problem, just like doctors and counselors and psychiatrists in the medical field.

However, a spiritual figure usually has something significant to say to a person. If they are truly ‘in the spirit’, they can look right into a person and see all the different problems and good points of your life. Some people do not have a prayer life or believe in God, and this among other things like Health, Work and Education and Hobbies and Interests and Relationships, can be the reason for things going wrong in their life and others in their life.

3. Atheists

We tend to live in a modern world where there are relaxed moral values and practices, and this can be seen with the rise in Atheism, or no belief or faith in a higher or Supreme Being. With Atheism, moral values become relaxed when Atheists lead into or live destructive lives.

There is a saying, ‘there is good and bad in every race’, as the saying goes, and this includes Atheists. Some Atheists do not know any better and are ignorant of Faith to some or a full extent. Some Atheists have encountered a bad experience of God or have not had God taught to them in their upbringing. Some of these Atheists go on to live destructive lives. Others respect the moral order, despite not practicing any Faith, and live constructive lives, such as Atheist and author Richard Dawkins.

Even though an Atheist does not believe in God, they still have a chance to make it to Heaven, if they allow it, for example, by repenting/confession (Christianity) and attempting to live a good life.

From a Christian viewpoint, Jesus Christ not only came for good and righteous, but also for the sinners, which would include most of us, and this would include Atheists. It is true, evil has entered society and the Church these days, and some Atheists can be treated badly or sinners have taken over and have not been kept under control and the good and strong have been stopped from ruling over them.

Some Atheists in particular, and people in general, have been dragged or tempted into immoral, evil or weak behavior, for example, drinking and smoking, and do not know they have an evil spirit in them. It is good to observe the person for a while, if their bad behavior persists, it is important to see a trustworthy spiritual adviser to cast the spirit out of them.

However, some Atheists can get to Heaven before other people because they have faced and encountered life full on, despite the risk of doing this. They have experienced and learnt a number of things along the way and may even be closer to Heaven than one thinks. This applies to most Atheists who have been constructive as best as possible with their lives and some who have turned away from being destructive.

One thing that Atheists can teach people in a religion is that sometimes religion can be a bit too constrictive. Most people do not understand the mechanics of a religion, for example, can I do this, can I do that? It can be a bit too much and people put up with it and remain dissatisfied or leave altogether. The correct answer is that a good blend of worldly and spiritual knowledge needs to be there, a balance. One has to remember we are not in our Heavenly realm yet, so as human beings we will have a state of imperfection until we do so.

4. Supernatural and Divine Presence

God is Divine. The word magical can be a sensitive word for some people, for example, evil connotations of a witch or wizard. But such magic is usually, especially these days, in the hands of God, the Supreme Being, as well as those who can, or attempt to control it like ‘Healers’ in everyday society and spiritual and religious figures.

How the universe and the world came into existence is a miracle in itself. This kind of magical and divine power exists today in the world and eternal realm, not just through religion, but society in general, for example, Health, Science and Medicine for instance.

There have been healings and miracles in religion and elsewhere that society cannot explain. Some people in society are unaware of these healings and miracles, but may have strategies in place that can see them survive. One has to understand that members of Christianity and other religions sometimes have to keep searching for that Supernatural and Divine power, especially with evil entering religion, and have to educate and research themselves.

As stated before, although science and medicine has progressed so far, a spiritual adviser or figure can have something important to say to you or assist you in your healing or recovery. Prayer and one’s place of worship is also a significant part of one’s spiritual and religious life and can provide Supernatural and Divine assistance.

There are also people in society, like you and me, who are ‘in the spirit’ or ‘healers’. They have a blend of worldly and spiritual knowledge that can be beneficial and have had contact with Supernatural or Divine elements of life.

5. Jesus as being Constructive

This is a very important subject because the name and figure of Jesus Christ can be misunderstood.

Jesus represented how to be a better human being, despite being a spiritual figure. His aim was to be constructive, provide help and assistance to people and give a positive example to the people of his time and throughout time until today.

For example, Jesus Christ was one man who conquered the almighty Roman Empire. Jesus existed during the time of the Roman Empire, and his teaching, especially the efforts of his Apostles, spread Christianity in such a way as to have such a profound effect on the World and Eternal life. In stating this, having the Holy Trinity in us is to have the Trinity work in together with each other, in harmony, for our own benefit.

Jesus Christ was also practical. Christianity is more than just reading the Bible, or a Holy book in a certain religion, and not doing anything with it. It is physically getting up and doing something with it, for example, charity work, donations, providing help and assistance and advice to people in need and earning an income for your family through your hard efforts at work. In stating this, there needs to be a balance in life. Some people are more complex and do more things or are deeper, whilst other people are more simple and straightforward (some people can mistake this for being lazy).

In Australia, there are Churches everywhere, not for a joke, for a reason. If Christianity did not work as a religion, the decision-makers in our society would not have allowed such Churches to have been made.

6. You do your best and God does the rest

Some people think they can make it in life without Christianity or a religion or without being spiritual. These people may last for a while, even into older ages, but when problems or sickness hits, it can hit hard. By having Faith in your life, and a good balance in one’s life, these problems and sicknesses can be overcome sooner or eventually.

There is a saying, ‘you do your best and God does the rest’. If you play your part and do what is asked of you as a human being and member of a particular religion or of society, help will come in some way or another. A good way to receive blessings and help and assistance is through prayers and petitions and also a Goals list, which is mentioned in many personal development materials.

There is a saying, ‘Goals not Gifts’ are better for a person. Goals are like prayers and petitions, but written down, and the visual senses are the most powerful sensory organ for most people; seeing what you have written as well as hearing what you have written is very powerful for learning and structuring your environment in your favor.

It is how the world and spiritual world will respond to you when you start planning and molding your environment to how you need and want. For example, if you are in a shopping center car park and you start to look for a parking space, the environment will respond with cars reversing out and people walking to their cars with their shopping.

7. Rituals and Procedures in a Religion

Most religions have its own rituals and procedures to make it what it is. Some practitioners know it, others do not know it as much. Then again, there are people who are complex and those who are simpler and this needs to be respected.

If a person is new to their own religion or has not practiced often, they will lack the knowledge and understanding of someone who has been in the religion for a while. An example is going for Communion. Usually a person who has not been to Communion for a while needs to go to confession, but some people who come into the Church do not go to confession and go straight to Communion unclean. Now a person who has been going to Church for a while would know this, and person who had not, would not know. It is up to these long-serving parishioners or the Priest or Pastor to remind the other person of this.

Some people find religion or Church or a place of worship to be boring or unstimulating, hence the growth of Churches like Hillsong. These Churches do have a positive vibe about them and do have the Bible and Pastors speaking about all different topics. However, there is a lack of spirituality and solemness. Some of these people who attend Hillsong or similar Churches lack that true and deeper understanding of why they go to Church.

In stating this, the mass, along with the Eucharist or Communion, and Confession/Repentance, are powerful sacraments and are prayers and healing in themselves. The same goes in other religions and their practices.

For example, Angels appeared in the Church to the husband of a wife who been trying for many years to bring him to Church. He changed, and began to attend Church, help others and speak occasionally to the congregation of the Church. One thing a person can say when attending a Church or place of worship, is ‘Angels in the Church, please help me’.

8. Literature in religion

Reading and listening to spiritual or religious information, along with all what encompasses a religion, can provide positivity, foundation, hope, love, motivation and enthusiasm and structure, among other things. Some good Pastors are Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen and David Jeremiah, who are all on YouTube or having material one can purchase.

However, one should not cut off the world’s information on life as life can be someone’s best teacher, for example, personal development material. One does not sit a course or education in their house or place of worship, it is done in society. Life can be someone’s best teacher. In stating this, a blend of worldly and spiritual and religious material should be used to help and motivate your life.

Bibliography

• Ã?· Personal experiences:

– I thought about being a Life Coach at one stage, but decided to make my own areas of life that needed to be concentrated on, including Faith (Also Health, Activities and Relationships).
– I personally being ‘in the spirit’, with my blend of worldly and spiritual knowledge having progressed so far.