WHAT IS FAITH?

Faith.....now here is a word that can bring about all sorts of emotions. To some, faith is a system of religious beliefs...to another it is something that is believed with strong conviction. How we interpret this word AND apply it to our life can make a huge difference in our response to a Loving God.

 The bible says "Without faith it is impossible to please God for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" Hebrews 11:6 The Greek word in this passage is the word "pistis", meaning a persuasion.....especially a reliance upon Christ for salvation..... When I used to hear the word "faith" what I understood it to mean is that it was "my ability to appropriate God's promises, His word over circumstances that may appear contrary to a life of peace, joy, provision, and so on.

 Somehow the emphasis in my mind came back to the subconscious belief that it was based in "my ability". And so, my role was to memorize enough scriptures and strive to carry myself in a manner worthy of Christianity. This would include but is not limited to being kind to all, love my enemies, don't lose my temper,confess a bible verse frequently that pertains to whatever situation I found myself struggling with, remain positive in a negative environment, don't speak ill of anyone, check my giving records because my checkbook truly revealed my heart, reflect on the way I have been treating my wife/children/co-workers/boss and so on and so forth.

 Sure sounds like a whole lot of work and responsibility on my end. And why shouldn't it? I mean think about it, God did His part.....He loved me when I was yet a sinner....He sent His only Son into the world to die upon a cross for me....and then if that wasn't enough, He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in me...to teach me....to guide me...the Comforter as the bible describes Him....One called along side to help me in times of distress.....sure seems as though God has done His part so c'mon.....I have the easy part, all I have to do is believe and behave!

 Yet, at times that can seem to be an daunting task. Why is that? Well I believe that somewhere along the line I came to a fork in the road....and that fork was the understanding and application of FAITH. One way leads to my persuasion in Christ, and the other speaks of my persuasion of self. By what basis am I forming my "persuasion". Remember, faith is a persuasion.....especially a reliance upon Christ for salvation. If my persuasion is based upon my ability to POSSESS AND PERFORM all the characteristics of what we believe Christians should portray constantly, my persuasion is going to falter quite frequently. For to be persuaded of a matter, one must hold no conflict in mind that rises against that belief....in other words, if I believe that God is love and I also believe that God will take a young child from it's mother through disease, then I won't find myself persuaded that God heals. There is a conflict in my beliefs and therefore, my faith or persuasion about a matter is compromised.

 So how can we please God by our faith? Our faith must be founded in God's word, not man's circumstances or experiences. If if you say that God's word seems to contradict itself, simply look at the Gospels and the life of Jesus.....Jesus said, "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father". I don't recall any time that Jesus took a life....or refused to heal, deliver or provide for anyone He came across. Start there....start by trusting in Him.

 He didn't come to this earth to teach us how to live....He came to offer Himself as the wages for our iniquities so that we can boldly come to God's throne of Divine Influence (Grace) and receive help in time of need.

 God loves you....be persuaded of that fact today!

New Updates To Be Installed

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Our heart is like our "operating system". Much like your personal computer or your mobile phone, each one has an operating system which enables the device to work as it was created to function. I like the "Easy To Read" bible version of this verse of scripture, "Above all, be careful what you think because your thoughts control your life". What we believe will form how we function. If our heart (our belief system) understands that our Creator is a Loving Father who created us in His image and likeness, in order that we may experience the Life, the Peace, the Joy that He has in His Son and the Son has in the Father, we will operate in the design He purposed for us to experience. This is called the ZOE or GOD kind of life. That life was given us as a free gift...breathed into man at the time of creation...intended for us to experience for eternity. Then the deceiver came along and told Eve that if she and Adam would eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they will be "like God". At this point, man had determined by eating of the forbidden fruit that he would experience the God kind of life by knowing good and evil...by knowing what is right and what is wrong,purposing in his heart to do what was right and avoid that which is wrong. Adam believed that he would be able to "perform" correctly and thus be like God. In short, this belief is still prevalent in the church today. The enemy wants us to believe this so that our consciousness is focused on our sin...our performance... or our ability to do right and avoid wrong. But One greater than Adam came.....the last Adam Who would defeat death.....who would put an end to what Adam had done, forever defeating the law of sin consciousness by fulfilling the law on our behalf and thus establishing a new law....the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:2) For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.(Rom 5:19) So, if we believe in our heart (our operating system) that God is love.....that He lures us into this ZOE life by His love, freely giving us the life He designed us to experience....a life filled with His peace......His Joy.... despite what circumstances may appear to say....if this is the design of our operating system, we will then be able to function as He designed us to function. It is from this platform that His love will work in us and flow through us to a lost and dying world. This is the Good News that we are to preach to all the world! The news that One came to restore man to the operating system by which he was originally created. A system free from viruses....a system that includes " de-fragmentation software" which will sort out those fragments (pain, hurt, disappointment) accumulated in our hard drive by the experiences of this life and rearrange them into healthy segments that empower us to operate more efficiently. His design is one where we can rest in Him...the True Developer of a life where we can fellowship with Him in the cool of the day...where we can tap into His unlimited potential by GRACE (by the Divine influence in our hearts). So.....check your operating system.....what version are you running? The old version that says "By what I do, I will become" or the New Invitational Version that says, "By What He has done, I have become"! Click here to upload......

Forgiven!  

 

 

 When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he wrongly assumed His God would be angry but instead God came looking for Him to take His regular evening walk.

When Abraham sent his wife, Sarah, into Pharaoh's tent to protect his own life by allowing her to have sex with another man, God told Pharaoh that he was on dangerous
ground and that he'd better get her out of there right now. The next words out of God's mouth to Abraham were to reassure him of the covenant He had made with him. Not a word about his sin.

When Elisha was depressed and afraid and angry and prayed to die, God sent an angel to feed him so that he might regain his strength. No shame or blame.

When Peter denied Jesus, our Lord made sure when he arose to mention Peter by name and said to make sure he knew Jesus was alive. No reference to what Peter had done.

These were giants in the Bible - giants who made horrific choices. In each instance, the love of God swallows up their sins and foolishness in one great gush of grace. It's absurd. What have you done that causes you to think God may be disappointed or perturbed toward you? Whatever it is, you need to set it aside because that's what He has done. As absurd as it sounds, God isn't interested in what you've done in the past. He lives with you in the now and wants you to live in this moment of grace and accept His forgiveness.

Jesus showed us our Father's heart when He had the Father of the prodigal son throw him a party when he returned home without so much as a mention of what the boy had done. That's your God.

Refuse to accept His acceptance and you'll lock yourself inside a prison of your own making. Accept His acceptance and you'll run in the joyful freedom only known by those who know their sins never appear on God's radar-- never.

You've messed up? Welcome to the world of great children of God. It happened. So put it aside now. Don't insult the finished work of Jesus on the cross by insisting on trying to share in dealing with it through your own gnawing guilt and spiritually suicidal self-consciousness. You are forgiven. You are free. You are one with the One who keeps no record of wrongs and promises to never remember them again.

So dance. Run. Laugh. Play. Celebrate. That's what the Father, Son and Spirit are doing and He asks you to join in right now.

This is a repost from "Grace Walk" by Steve McVey.  It was so good I thought I would share it.