When I first began discussing “Faith” I stated I would be covering 3 parts to the series.
- To identify and name what keeps us from faith (fear, confidence, inferiority…) whatever is enabling us?
- To be honest with ourselves and most especially with God.
- To know where we are, where we want to be and to whom we belong.
Review of Part 1, God does not require us to be at a particular place in life or in our belief or faith to be saved and be in fellowship with God; most importantly because we are incapable of ever reaching Him and saving ourselves. God wants to meet us exactly where we are in life, the only thing required is for us to admit we are sinful and to recognize that God loved us so much He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ to suffer and die. We are afforded salvation through the mercy, grace and unconditional love of God…period! My lack of self-confidence and understanding truth keep me from being in constant relationship with God, my humanness. God bridged the gap that separates us from Him and His glory because of our sins through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus paid the ransom for all sin, by His unselfish act of doing His Father’s will we now have an intercessor on our behalf to reconcile with God the Father.
I Timothy 2:5-6 (NIV) “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.”
Hebrews 7:23-25 (NIV) “Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.”
Review of Part 2, I stated that “faith” to me is an “action” word and I also stated, “While it is true, faith in God requires my affirmation (action) in God displayed in my daily life and interactions, the real action of faith is the power, majesty and grace of God.” Faith is the foundation of Christian life and assurance of a future in Heaven with God.
Part 3 of Faith is for each of us to individually look at our lives and seek to be more Christ-like and deepen our relationship with God. There is no better person to tell your life story than you! Our lives can be anything we want it to be; in many ways we can be our own worst enemy or our biggest fan. God has given each of us a detailed plan for an amazing life, the Bible. The Bible can be scary to open and read, but you don’t have to be scared. Start with stories you’ve heard or watch a movie about a story from the Bible. The Bible is filled with true accounts of men and women living for God, their stories are about activities that still happen in our lives today, such as betrayal, grief, victory, love, companionship, trials, pain, healing, brotherhood, sacrifice, miracles, prophecy, strength, mercy, forgiveness, agriculture, geography, mathematics, promises kept, promises broken, cultural, traditions, laws, nature, animals, history, health issues, families…anything and everything you can think of can be found within the pages of the Bible. These are my truths:
- I believe in Jesus Christ, He came and lived on earth and took upon Himself the sins of the entire human race. God loves us that much.
- I believe in Heaven and Hell, I choose Heaven not because it beats the alternative but because Jesus loves me, He created me and He gave me purpose. I hunger for knowledge about my God and His wondrous works.
- I am sinful; it is something I am reminded of daily and thankful for forgiveness. God meets me each day where I am.
- I want to share my views and faith with others; I am seeking God’s will for my life.
Things that work for me and help keep me be honest and true:
- Begin my day with devotions and praying to God, talking with God. He wants to be in relationship with His children.
- Ask for God with walk with me throughout my day, reminding myself that I am not alone. I also where a ring that is engraved, “You’ll never walk alone.”
- End my day with a devotional and sharing with God.
- Attend church, involved in groups and activities within my church and help my community.
- I read books, share on twitter and I share my faith on my blog.
- Engage in conversations about my faith with friends.
- Less TV entertainment, TV became a distraction for me it kept me in my home too much and created less time to be in community with my family and friends.
I had initially stated, that faith for me is an action word; with the focus being “my” actions while I believe that to be true, faith in God requires my affirmation (action) in God displayed in my daily life and interactions, the real action of faith is the power, majesty and grace of God. Faith is the foundation of Christian life and assurance of spending eternity in Heaven with God because we are incapable of saving ourselves. Here’s a quote by Charles Spurgeon that rings so true, “When I thought God was hard, I found it easy to sin; but when I found God so kind, so good, so overflowing with compassion, I beat my breast to think I could ever have rebelled against One who loved me so and sought my good.”
Our time together has ended, now our services begin! I hope this 3 part series has been beneficial to you and your Christian journey. I will list some references below that may also be helpful:
~Blessings and Peace~
References:
http://jonathanmerritt.religionnews.com/2013/10/02/tullian-tchividjian/
http://www.wikihow.com/Build-Self-Confidence
http://www.wikihow.com/Trust-Your-Own-Abilities
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) “And 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.”
Romans 10:17 (NIV) “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV) “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.”
HOPE SEEKER 