I have been thinking a bunch about this concept of faith. In fact, I looked back over
all my different blogs and found no less than a dozen occasions that I have written specifically about faith. We know in Hebrews 11:1 that:
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do
not see
So I see that faith is a confident hope and assurance in things eternal. This is
comforting and can certainly help us as we trudge through the swamp of life.
To continue on in our look at faith we can see that in Greek, faith means: the
conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and
bestower of eternal salvation through Christ; a strong and welcome conviction or
belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the
kingdom of God.
Further, the Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms defines faith as belief,
trust and obedience to God as revealed in Jesus Christ and that faith affects all
dimensions of one’s existence: intellect, emotions, and will.
And finally, J. I. Packer tells us that “faith is a believing trust or a trustful belief based
on the testimony received from God. That it is by faith that Christians are justified
before God, live their lives, and sustain their hope.”
So no matter the condition by faith I can have this confident hope only possible
through Christ; I can live with a believing trust that we have a God who loves us; I
can move through the obstacles of life with a trustful belief that all things are for the
good of those that love Him.
Matthew 21:21 reminds us:
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can
you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go,
throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.
Abba Father, increase our faith daily so that for your glory the mountains we climb
will reveal nothing but the depth of your love. No doubt!
Grace and Peace!
In this age of 24/7 communications I recently got some information very early in the
morning related to work. It has been a tough time and this was not good news. I
abruptly left the house in what could only be described as a foul mood. I was angry,
very, very frustrated and looking for answers.
Fortunately I did not immediately find those answers and as I entered my office I
began to angrily and anxiously worry. As I begin to settle, a thought occurred to
me...why don’t I open the Bible and just see what God might say to me.
I opened and was immediately drawn to Psalm 122:8-‐9:
For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, “Peace be within you!” For the
sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.
These two verses just stuck with me and as I thought about work and perhaps some
individuals I work with; I just felt the power of these two verses. I thought deeply about the
statement Peace be within you. Peace being the word shalom meaning
completeness, welfare, peace, quiet, contentment, tranquility. Then amazingly the
following verse I will seek your good. Not my good, but your good. Not expressing
anger and frustration with those I work with, but drawing upon the Shalom only
possible from God and seeking good for those I work with.
This stuck with me for a long while, in fact I read more about this Psalm at lunch, I
know it was not really written for a workplace, but I started thinking about how I
might apply these verses. Spurgeon tells us that we can find this peace and we can
seek this good by:
1) Prayer
2) Service to others
3) Keeping peace
4) Setting the example
Great advice; scripture driven...Shalom everyone!
Grace and Peace!
2013 has been a trying year...both personally and professionally. I am currently in
the middle of the longest stretch of working without a day off in over 30 years. It is
draining both physically and emotionally. Throughout it all there are times when I
am just ready to give up, times when I am totally overwhelmed; times when doubt
and anger rise up. It is in those times that I get a glimpse of hope, mercy, and love.
I see that it is so wonderful that I am not in charge, that I don’t have to be self reliant,
but reliant upon Christ. I see glimpses everywhere in creation, in relationships, just
people placed in my path.
Psalm 19:1-4 reminds us:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their
voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.
It is simply amazing that we have a God that cares so much about such a broken
person as me. It is amazing that no matter what is going on; there is a place to turn,
there is one to trust, there is a hope and peace that surpasses all understanding.
Let’s end with Psalm 8:3-4:
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the
stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of
them, human beings that you care for them?
Grace and Peace!
I have been immersed in Philippians lately; reading and re-‐reading this encouraging
and challenging book. I am beginning to see that this book not only offers great
encouragement and love, but also shows us a real picture of maturing as a Christian.
We are challenged from the start. In verse 27 of Chapter 1 we see;
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of
Christ.
Now I don’t know about you but being told to live in a manner worthy of the gospel
seems like a very tall order. As I started to dwell on this verse I did find that in the
Greek this phrase is actually one word: politeuomai. And this word means to act or
behave as a citizen. So we are to recognize and act and behave as if we are citizens
of God’s Kingdom.
But how do we do that? Matt Chandler describes it so well!
"What does it look like to live life in a manner worthy of the Gospel? It looks like
dying with Christ to one's self and being raised in Christ to walk in the newness of
life with our brothers and sisters. It means living grace-‐filled lives that grant
patience and mercy and gentleness for the spiritual journeys of others and a respect
for the differences and idiosyncrasies we all bring to the Lord's Table. The ground is
level at the foot of Christ's cross."
So to me we must recognize the radical gift of grace, love and mercy provided by the
atoning sacrifice of Christ, we must recognize that the only way we can live a life
worthy is in Christ granting the same patience, mercy and gentleness that we have
been granted and to me that is maturing as a Christian.
Father, thank you for your wonderful word, thank you for your grace, love and
mercy and Father, help us grant patience and mercy and gentleness with love to
others!
Grace and Peace!
