Faith a Way of Life Repost

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Faith a Way of Life

All these examples of Faith are not just about these people having faith in God but that they exercised their faith. Faith then is believing and trusting in an all powerful, all knowing God who is the creator of everything. It is trusting that God is a loving, merciful God who will reward and protect us. Faith is living in the center of God’s will and never questioning or doubting God is watching out for us and has a perfect plan for our lives. Faith is a relationship with God not just a belief in God. Faith is just knowing that God is who He says He is and not doubting that God can and will do what He says. Faith is more than just belief though; it is a way of life. Faith is assurance that God is with us in the good and bad times and that He loves us and takes care of us. It is having courage to live for God even when it is not the popular way to live. Faith is believing and knowing without a doubt that God hears our prayers and answers them. Faith is living for God in God’s will no matter where He leads us.
When things are going smooth we say we have faith and are living for God but we need to rely on our faith when there are problems and troubles that come our way too. Faith is knowing that God is still God in good and bad times and that God is in control. Faith is a relationship with God and it is how we should live. We should continually pray and read our Bible so our faith grows. Faith is the love we have towards God and our wanting to live for God and be more like God. We should be like these examples from the Bible and our faith should be unquestioning, unwavering, obedient, unchanging, courageous faith just like these examples. Jesus says in Matt. 17:20 that all it takes is a small amount of faith and then nothing is impossible. Matt. 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”(KJV) God is awesome and is able to do anything and all we have to do is have faith and believe in Him and what God can do and nothing then is impossible for us either.
As I conclude this study on faith it is important to remember that faith should be not just what we believe, but how we live in good and bad times. Exercising our faith daily is how we grow in our walk with the Lord. Do not just say I have faith but practice the faith you have. If you live by your faith then your witness to others will be great and God will be able to use you in the work he has planned for you. It is so easy when things get rough to falter, but living by faith means that we rely on God and the knowledge that God provides and takes care of His children. We don’t have to understand everything that we go through we just have to trust and believe that God is in control. In Mark it tells us that if we have faith and don’t doubt then we can move mountains or in other words nothing is impossible for us with God’s help. The key is to believe and not to doubt, to ask and expect to get an answer. Mark 11: 22-24 22“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”(KJV) My desire is to grow in my faith and to live daily in my faith. To have a faith that is unquestioning, unwavering, unchanging, obedient and courageous so that God can use me how ever He sees fit. I pray that all Christians will grow in faith and live by faith too.

Courageous Faith Re Post

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Courageous Faith

The last example of faith I want to look at is a courageous faith in God. This example of courageous faith can be found when we look at Daniel who because of his obedience and faith in God he is put into a lions den. Daniel has favor with King Darius and he is going to appoint him chief overseer of the whole kingdom and the other leaders decide they have to find away to get rid of Daniel. They could find no wrong with him so they decided to use his faith in God against him. They get the King to order a decree that no one in the kingdom can pray to anyone but the King or they would be put in the lions den. When Daniel heard this he still went three times a day with the window open and looking to Jerusalem and prayed to God just like he always did. Daniel was not afraid to stand up for his faith in God and not for his own safety to just go along with the decree. The other leaders knew that Daniel had that strong of faith in God and would not even for safety sake go along with the decree which says a lot about Daniel’s witness and his faith. Dan. 6: 3-9 3“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God. 6Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 7All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.”(KJV) As soon as they saw Daniel praying they brought him before the king and the king could not get out of the decree he made but he was upset that he had to put him in the lions den. The king tries all day to think of a way but he couldn’t so he had Daniel brought and he put him in the lions den and sealed and then said to Daniel your God will protect you. So even the king understood Daniels strong faith in God. Dan. 6:10-18 “10Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. 11Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. 12Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 13Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day. 14Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him. 15Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. 16Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 17And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.”(KJV) God closed the lion’s mouth and when the king came the next morning and opened up the den Daniel was fine. God had rewarded Daniel for his steadfast and courageous faith. The king proclaimed that all in his kingdom while he was king would worship this God of Daniel so Daniel’s faith that didn’t waiver but even in the face of death was strong brought a king and his kingdom to God. Dan 6:10-28 “19Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 21Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. 25Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end. 27He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions. 28So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”(KJV)We need to have a courageous faith like Daniel and not be afraid even when it isn’t popular in the world or our families to believe and have faith in God. God will reward and protect us just like he did Daniel and the world and our families will have a witness of God and his faithfulness to us also. Never let fear come between us and God.

Simple Faith in Action Re Post

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Simple Faith in Action

Two more examples of faith is when a ruler tells Jesus his daughter is dead but that if Jesus would just come and lay His hands on her she would live again and Jesus followed him and as they were going there in the crowd was a woman who was sick for many years and she knew if she could just touch Jesus’ garment she would be healed and when He passed the woman touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and Jesus knowing this had happened turned and told her that her faith had made her whole. Matt. 9:18-25 18 “While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. 19And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: 21For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole. 22But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. 23And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, 24He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. 25But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose” (KJV) These two people had a faith that was simply knowing that Jesus was who He said He was and they knew they just had to ask or do and it would happen plain and simple they were confident that Jesus could help them. What a faith to have to just simply know with out question that God can do what is needed but not stopping there to be bold enough to then just put into action that faith expecting the miracle to happen. Because they believed that Jesus could and would help them and because of this faith it happened. So many times we think we can’t ask God for things or if we do ask then we never believe it really will happen, so we limit God by not asking or believing. We need to be like the ruler and the woman in the crowd and believe, ask and know that God will. We have at our old church a sign that says Expect a Miracle. It is a reminder not to just ask for a miracle but expect it to happen too. We need to have faith and act on it knowing that if it’s God’s will it will happen. Next time you pray for someone or yourself remember to not only believe in God’s ability but have faith He will take care of you or the one you are praying for. Expect an answer and Expect a miracle.

Job A Faithful Servant Repost

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Job a faithful Servant

Job's faithfulness to God

We all remember Job. The people in the world were wicked and full of sin and Satan says to God that he is running around the world and the people are following him not God and God says have you considered my servant Job. Job 1:6-12 6 “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.
7And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. 8And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? 9Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? 10Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. 11But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. 12And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.”(KJV) Job was so faithful to God that God told Satan that it wouldn’t matter what happened, Job would still be faithful to him. This means that we all should strive to be like Job, that our faith is so strong that no matter what comes our way we stay faithful to God. Job lost his family, his wealth, his health and still he was faithful. Even his wife and so called friends told him to curse God and he refused to. God knew Job would stay faithful and that is why he allowed this all to happen. Sometimes, today even, people see someone going through tough times or a sickness and they say to them you better get things straightened out with God because you must have made God really mad at you, just like Job’s friends told him. Maybe God is just using that person to touch others by their faithfulness to him through trouble. When you become like Job’s friends then you show your lack of faith, when you believe that God is out to get you is the only reason that trouble is there. God didn’t forget Job but trusted him to stay faithful. Because of Job’s steadfast faithfulness God gave Job more than what he had lost. Job 42:10 “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”(KJV) What a testimony that 1. Job was so faithful to God that God trusted him to be tried by Satan, 2. That all through the trials Job was steadfast in his faith to God even when his friends tried to get him to curse God, 3. Job even through all his troubles obeyed and prayed for his friends and 4. Because of Job’s faithfulness God rewarded him. God is always a just and loving God and he rewards our faithfulness. I hope that the next time there is a bump in the road that we like Job will be steadfast in our faith and trust in God. Let us be good uplifting friends helping those around us to be strong in their faith too and not be like Job’s friends and be more of a hindrance than a help. Let us be faithful to God so that God can say of us have you considered my servant.

Noah's Faith Repost

 

Sometimes when life seems overwhelming we need to look back at the examples of faith that we see in the Bible. Here is todays re post

 

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Noah's Faith

Noah Builds An Ark

Another example of a man of faith is Noah.Gen.6:12-22 12 “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 13And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 14Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. 15And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. 16A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. 17And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die. 18But with thee will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. 19And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 20Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after his kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive. 21And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them. 22Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.” (KJV)God told Noah to build an ark and Noah did. He showed faith because he built the ark even though the world was ridiculing him. He obeyed God even though he didn’t understand all that God was asking of him. He shows faith in just being picked by God to build the ark. God picked him because he was faithful. Gen 6:8 “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.” (KJV) God knew that Noah was faithful and that he had been following him so he laid this job on Noah and Noah stepped up to the task and not only started it but faithfully completed it. Noah exercised his faith by building the ark and doing it exactly as God asked and not straying from the plan God had and trying to make it his own. Noah was a faithful man of God so that is why God could use him. We should try to be this faithful also so that God can use us in anyway He sees fit. Then Noah had a complete faith in God and God’s plan and did exactly what he was told. How many times do we tell God your will be done and then try to tell God how we think it should be done. We try to improve on God’s plan and in the end we just mess everything up. Or better yet we tell God we will do his will and we start doing the job God has for us only to never finish it because it becomes hard or we get bored or we decide we aren’t getting enough attention for our work. What ever the reason we just never get it finished. We need to be more like Noah with our faith and follow through on our work for God. Noah completely trusted God and did what was asked of him with out question. Gen 6:22 “Thus did Noah; according to all that God commanded him, so did he.”(KJV) We should strive to be faithful and live for God so that he is able to use us for his work and then like Noah to follow God completely and finish the task as God has for us to do. We should have a complete and trusting faith in God. That is my prayer to be ready at any time for God to use me.

Peter's Stroll Re Post

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Peter's Stroll

Peter Walks on water towards Jesus

The next example I think of when I think about examples of faith is Peter when Jesus came to the disciples walking on water and Peter was the only one who stepped out of the boat to go to Jesus. Matt. 14: 22-32 22 “And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. 23And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. 24But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary. 25And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear 27But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. 28And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. 29And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. 31And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? 32And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased.”(KJV)Now you may question why I think this is faith when Peter failed and began to sink but really think about it. Peter was the only disciple in that boat who had enough faith to even step out of the boat onto the water and even attempt to walk to Jesus. His problem wasn’t a lack of faith but his problem was he momentarily took his eyes off Jesus and began to doubt and only then did he begin to sink; but then he showed faith because he cried out to Jesus to save him. Jesus reached out to him and they both went back to the boat. So Peter showed faith when he trusted that Jesus could and would save him. He stepped out on faith and started to Jesus but was distracted by the storm; took his eyes off Jesus, and then he began to sink. How many times do we live by faith but when it gets a little tough and storms or troubles come into our lives do we like Peter get distracted and forget to keep our eyes on God? The key to this is that we like Peter should only let our doubt last for a short time and then like Peter we should return to our faith and cry out to God to help and save us. Don’t get so distracted and forget all about your faith when trouble comes along, but remember that like Peter we can cry out to God and then believe and know that he is there to save us. Peter’s faith was not lost but was momentarily shaken by the storm but he never forgot totally his faith. How many times do Christians slip and then just beat themselves up instead of by faith call out to God for help and forgiveness. So to me Peter put his faith into action and then stumbled but recovered and again exercised his faith and asked for help. Do not be one who stumbles and slips and then continues down because of feeling like a failure. God is waiting for us to step back out on faith and call on him. Remember too that we should always keep our eyes and minds on God and then we will be less likely to stumble and be blind sided when things get bumpy in life. Step out on faith, live daily by your faith and remember that if we stumble to ask God to save us and help us and then believe he will.