Addressing a Common Misconception: God's Creation vs God's Children

If I think back to the not so distant past, I can remember sitting in SAT review classes discussing the fact that all BMW's are cars, but not all cars are BMW's. Along the same lines as this would be a concept that I only recently considered, which is the fact that we are all God's creation, but we are not all God's children. Some might think I'm being overly picky, but the distinction is necessary.
Looking back at Genesis 1:27, we find that it states, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." This statement proves that God created each and every one of us. Those unable to accept this as fact are those who do not have the Holy Spirit residing within them, and thus, are lacking the necessary faith to believe, as mentioned in Hebrews 11:3 ~ "By faith we understand that the universe was created by the Word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible." This lack of faith characterizes the unbelievers of the world, while being born of the Spirit is what distinguishes the believers, who are God's children.
Upon close analysis of Romans 8:5-8, there's a clear distinction between those who live by the flesh and those who live by the Spirit. Each and every person is born into a fallen world and has a sin nature that is opposed to all things holy. In that sense, all of Creation is on equal footing as we all fall short of God's righteousness. It is not until we are born again in the Spirit, as Jesus stated in John 3:3-6 that we are set apart for the Kingdom of God. It is only by God's grace that we are saved and able to be considered His children (Ephesians 2:1-10). Every Christian believer, therefore, is saved by God's grace and believes that Jesus is their Savior. Then, and only then, are they considered children of God and not just part of God's creation. John 1:12 clearly states, "But to all who did not receive him who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God."
The most significant characteristic that makes it evident that someone is a believer in Christ, rather than an unbeliever is the Holy Spirit. Those individuals who repent of their sins and accept Christ in their hearts as Lord and Savior have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. The Holy Spirit helps these individuals live according to the Spirit rather than the flesh, setting them apart as the true children of God. Proof of this is written in Romans 8:14, which says, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." This is of noted importance because Romans 8:16 reiterates this point with different wording by saying, "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."
Many might claim to be Christians, but if there is no sanctifying proof of the Holy Spirit doing a work in their lives, they might be making false claims. Only those who accept Jesus as their Savior and through the help of the Holy Spirit try to obey God's Word are those who can be considered God's children and set apart for the kingdom of heaven.

Has Your Faith Reached Mustard Seed Size?

In the Gospel of Matthew, there is a story about a boy with a demon that the disciples weren't able to cast out. When the disciples questioned about why they weren't able to do this, he responded in Matthew 17:20 by saying, "'Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'" I believe this verse holds two teaching points; first, that our faith can move mountains, and second, the amount of faith necessary is miniscule, but some of us don't even possess that miniscule amount. I believe we all yearn to have immense amounts of faith, but when faced with struggles and questionable circumstances in our own lives, I think we have a tendency to allow doubt to creep in. As Christians, we believe that Jesus was born of a virgin and that God parted the Red Sea, but we don't seem to possess faith enough to trust that God will answer our prayers about finances, employment, health issues, or any other daily struggle we might face.

If I'm to be upfront and honest with you, I've been full of plenty of doubts myself lately. I'm still unsure of my career path and not sure if I should go for a certification and if so, which certification to even go for. I trust God to bless me with a job, but after my phone interview the other day, my brain became full of more questions and doubt than faith that it'll work out. When friends asked me how I thought it went, I told them I wasn't sure because I was honest and told the interviewer that I really haven't been keeping up with my EKG skills lately. My worldly self began questioning whether or not someone would still want to hire me even though my skills are rusty when I really should have been more focused on the fact that I was willing to be honest and maintain my integrity. Also, I need to trust the fact that God is in control and already knows the outcome.

Three things got me to snap out of the doubt that was slowly beginning to creep in and take over my brain. The first came from a text a friend sent to me after I told her I wasn't sure about how my interview went. Her response was brief but served as an excellent wake up call. She said, "I know it went good K I was praying for you." Her assuredness and faith about the situation caught me by surprise, but also put a smile on my face. I'm very happy and blessed to have someone in my life who is confident about the outcome of her prayers for others. The second was remembering the faith I had had just one week before while at work. I was expecting an order of firewood that would cost $240, but at the start of my day, I only had about $40-$50. I knew only God would be able to help me in this situation so I prayed for His provision for the money and to possibly delay the arrival of the firewood. Low and behold in the early afternoon I had a wave of customers check in for their campsites and pay for their camping and a bunch of supplies. Although it was a bit chaotic, I was thankful for the business and God answered my prayer by providing me with more than enough money to pay the guy who brought the firewood, who happened to arrive right after all of my customers. The third thing that got my attention came from the book Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. The biggest slap in the face came from the following sentence: "Quit assuming and start believing." I need to stop assuming that I may not get hired based on my performance during an interview and instead have faith that God is monitoring the situation and knows what will happen. God has the power to open doors to places I've never been before, for positions I never would have considered. He knows exactly where I need to end up and I need to trust God to get me there because I can't get there on my own.

In the long run, God may not want me to get the position I just interviewed for and only He knows the reasoning behind the final outcome. But until I get an answer, I must maintain my faith and belief that God can come through for me. My faith must grow to the size of a mustard seed if I'm ever going to move mountains in my life. Regardless, I must remember what is written in Matthew 19:26, which states, "'With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.'"