Faith

Faith...  Is it yours?  Is it borrowed, rented, used?  Did you inherit it from a family member?

Yep...just plain 'ole faith.  Faith can be kind of hard and messy all at the same time. 

I think we take faith for granted. We think it’s easy to believe and easy to keep believing, but it’s not... not for most of us.

It’s the faith.  It’s what we believe about the things that matter most. Take that faith away and we have nothing left!  If we believe it, if we really, truly, absolutely believe it, then yes, it’s the faith, and friends we’d best put on our marching shoes and go wherever we are needed to put our faith to work.

The writer of Hebrews 11 would surely say Amen to that. If what we believe makes any difference, then it has to change the way we live. That’s what the phrase “by faith” (repeated over and over again in this chapter) is all about. 

Sometimes we don’t take faith as seriously as we should.  We assume something that the Bible never takes for granted.  True faith is a precious and precarious commodity.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.There are those who have faith and those who don’t. And if you don’t have faith, you cannot please God.  Think about that for a minute!  

We are justified by faith (Romans 5:1,9).  We are reconciled to God (Romans 5:10).  We have peace with God (Ephesians 2:17-18).   We have a standing of righteousness before God, because of Christ's life and death. (1 Corinthians 1:30).  We have become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21; Philippians 3:9).  

But we are not yet perfect (Philippians 3:12)! 

We still sin.  We fall short of God's perfect standard every day.  We glory in the truth that... in spite of this sin, God counts us as righteous for Christ's sake, but we long to be free not only from the guilt of sin - which we are in Christ right now -but also from the presence and the power of sin. 

This is where we live!

Saved, secure in Christ, but sinful and "groaning" as we wait for the completion of our salvation, as Romans 8:23 says: "We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body."

In Galatians 5:4-6 (MSG) we read ... "I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love."

Faith expressed in love! A love that is based -- according to Scripture -- on what's inside us! And, what's inside??? Faith!

The difficulties of faith don't come from the lack of feeling, or action, -- but from the lack of divine knowledge.  The knowledge of who God is and the depth of His love.  Your faith isn't so much about you, about what you have or haven't done ... but rather about God, about what God has done and how much he has loved us.

The worst part about faltering faith ...  is that you are missing out on how much God loves and trusts you!  The formula of faith should be, "if you will...God will..." --reaching -- seeking -- is proof of passion... God won't give you anything that you haven't pursued.  

Maybe it's time to  pursue God ... faithfully...I'm just sayin!

Kelly

Thoughts

Have you ever been thinking and ...something shiny.... what  was I saying?

Have you ever been thinking and ... squirrel ... really?

Have you ever been thinking and ... I never thought about that!  Like....have you ever been thinking these kind of thoughts....

Why do pajamas have pockets?

Why do people sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" when they're already there?

Does anybody actually enjoy the music you hear when you're on "hold"?

Why is it called a hamburger when it is beef?

Why are they called apartments when they're all together?

How come permanents are temporary?

Before they invented golf balls, how did they measure hail?

Why aren't they called bakies instead of cookies?

Have you ever imagined a world with no hypothetical situations?

If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?

Why do we drive on parkways and park on driveways?

Get my point ... thoughts...can be really random and our thoughts can make or break us...

When we believe something, it will affect our feelings. When you believe you are a failure, you will feel like one. When you believe you are forgiven, you will act like you live in GRACE!

The difference between a guilt-ridden Christian and a happy and joyful Christian is often one simple thing... what we think about.  Guess who's thinking about the sin, the guilt and the past? And, guess who's thinking about how they have been washed clean and they are a new person in Christ?

Philippians 4:8 says,  "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things."

Our enemy loves to put thoughts of failure into our minds. Those thoughts (if meditated on), produce strongholds, which produces feelings, which lands us in bondage... all because we listened to the enemy... more than our heavenly Father!

In Psalms 94:1 David declares, "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Your consolations delight my soul."  

.... So it is like this, two voices are speaking: Satan likes to come along and tell you, "Look at that sin you did so long ago! That was so bad! You are such a failure!"  However, Jesus, through God's Word, tries to tell us that if we turn to Him, we will be forgiven (1 John 1:9), and our past will be forgotten!  

Isaiah 43:25... (NIV)  “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake,    and remembers your sins no more...

The Christian thought life is not the playground for the enemy, but the stage upon which the Truth of Jesus Christ can shine.  Jesus has given the saints of God everything they need in order to take command over their thought lives. 

We as Christian's are privileged to think on nothing but that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and of good report...

Romans 12:2

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

Whatever you keep your mind on (think about often) will affect your entire being...so if I were to sum it up with a  perfect verse...I think Isaiah was 'just sayin,' when he said...

Isaiah 26:3... (MSG.) "People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole,  Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.  Depend on God and keep at it because in the Lord God you have a sure thing."

See you soon!

-Kelly

Heart

Deuteronomy 6:5 - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

As Christians, one of our biggest challenges is to stay focused on God.  Sometimes... doing things for God can get in the way of being devoted to Him, especially if we substitute doing for knowing Him.

We were created to find our truest satisfaction in loving God first, above everything else.   We need to constantly check ourselves to make sure nothing comes between us and our relationship with God.  We should always remember to check our "heart."

Luke 11:28 -  He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

H - hear ...  When you read the Bible for inspiration, what would happen if we were to approach a Scripture with this prayer on our lips ...  "Lord, I need to hear a word from you today. Speak to me through your Word; help me to hear and to understand what you are saying to me."  When you make a habit of reading God's word daily and you pray that prayer, you have the opportunity to experience the power of God's word.   Then you can say, "God spoke to me through His word today …."

Romans 15:5 -  "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had..."

E - encourage ...We face so many challenges at every turn, it is important for us to have people in our lives that will get behind us to tell us we can do it.  What do we need when we are struggling?  Encouragement!  William Arthur Ward said, “Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you.  Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you.”

What can change the life of another person? Encouragement!

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him,  and he will make your paths straight."

A - acknowledge God ... God has promised to direct our paths if we'll acknowledge Him in all our ways.  What does it mean to acknowledge God?  It means we are to seek out, consider and have respect for God.  It means that we are to apply His word to the everyday decisions of our lives.  This is the "knowledge of God."  If we'll obey God in the small areas of our life - apply the Word - then the big areas will fall into place. For those who choose not to follow God in their daily lives ... there is no promise of divine guidance.  However,  God promises to lead and guide those who regard and respect Him ... "acknowledging Him in all our ways!"

1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

R - responsible ...Without question the greatest reason that we live for God is our unwavering belief in the resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is through His resurrection from the grave that we have hope and the promise of life eternal with him.  The apostle Paul touches on such responsibilities in his statement in the 15th chapter of 1st Corinthians.  He declares that, if we really believe and if we are truly thankful that our resurrection is sure, we should “therefore” demonstrate our assurance and our thankfulness by “standing firm, letting nothing move us” and “always giving ourselves full to the work of the Lord” 

The Bible teaches us that our responsibility as believers is to work as the Lord has gifted us and leads us in our lives. We must fully understand that until the Lord returns there are souls to reach and ministries of every kind. We are responsible for our money, time, energy, talents, gifts, bodies, minds, and spirits, and we should invest all that we are to the work of the Lord. 

Psalm 84:11-12 - "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.  Lord Almighty,  blessed is the one who trusts in you.

T - trust me ... God wants us to trust in the Word and the truth it contains. But more than that, we are invited to put our trust in the author of that truth, the Son of God. The apostle Paul wrote, “God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ”. It takes a powerful person whose heart beats with infinite love to provide us with the new life we need for daily living and the hope we need for the future. The carpenter from Nazareth, the flesh and blood human who is also fully divine, is just that kind of person. It is in his character, his caring, his ability, that we place our confidence and trust. Salvation is personal. It is a relationship.  We can nurture trust, but only God can place it within us to begin with. We can grow God’s gift and deepen it through Bible study, prayer, and exercising faith, but we cannot originate it.

So friends, "take heart" and I'm Just Sayin'.

See Ya Soon

Kelly