Your Faith

Your Faith
            The Psalmist wrote,

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

 He leads me beside quiet waters, 

He restores my soul. 

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I will fear no evil, 

for you are with me; 

your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 

You anoint my head with oil; 

my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, 

and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. 

                                                                            Psalm 23

Do you have complete faith in God?
The writer of Hebrews tells us,

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.” 

                                                        Hebrews 11:1

Martin Luther King jr. said,

“Faith is taking the first step 

even when you don't see the whole staircase.”

                                                 Martin Luther King, Jr.

Charles Spurgeon wrote,

“To trust God in the light is nothing, 

but to trust Him in the dark—

that is faith.” 

                                             Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

It can be very easy to confess being a Christian in the good times when life is easy and trouble free. However it is a different for many when life becomes difficult. When trouble and persecution come along.
God however requires faith in the bad times as well as the good times. The apostle Paul writing,
“Here is a trustworthy saying:

if we died with him, we will also live with him; 

if we endure, we will also reign with him.

If we disown him, he will also disown us; 

if we are faithless, 

he will remain faithful, 

for he cannot disown himself.

                                          2 Timothy 11-13

Thus the question is do you have complete faith in God?
The writer of Hebrews reminding us,

“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.” 

                                                                      Hebrews 11:6

Please think about it.

Sound Advice

Sound Advice
The writer of Proverbs states,

“Train a child in the way he should go,

 and when he is old he will not turn from it.” 

Proverbs 22:6.

My parents were not what some evangelical Christians would call Christian. Mom was Roman Catholic, Dad was Church of England. They attended church sporadically to say the least. However dad especially knew the Bible. He and my mother lived by Christian principles and they brought us up by those principles.
They never really said they were Christian principles, it was just that they brought us up the way they were brought up.
They key thing they taught us was one sentence that said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you,”
It was many years later when I gave my life to Christ and started studying the Bible for myself that I learned the last half of the sentence. The full quote is,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
It is something I have passed on to my children.
For some memorizing or taking to heart large portions of the Bible is hard. However Jesus made God’s principles to live by easy when he said,
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12.
Jesus made things very simple. So simple a child can understand.
Jesus when asked,
 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment. 
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40.
Even the smallest child knows what true love is instinctively.
The apostle Paul defined it this way,

“Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.”  

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13

If we, be we Christians or not, teach our children and our grandchildren to follow only one thing one teaching of Jesus said. That being
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.”
We would be at least one step closer to making the world around us a better place.
Please think about it.

Words for Christians

Words for the Christian

“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Romans 12:21

Question, do you? Do you overcome evil with good?
The apostle Peter states,
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.  
Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 
Dear friends,
 I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.  
Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:9-12.
Do you do this?
Many years ago I was told by my first pastor to memorize the words of Jesus who said,

“So in everything,

 do to others what you would have them do to you,

 for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” 

                                                                                         Matthew 7:12.
He told me if you sincerely believe what Jesus is saying you will respect all people no matter who they are, even your enemy.
In following these words of Christ you will also find that you are respected by those of different faiths, lifestyles, and positions in life. Thus making it easier for you to present the gospel of Christ.
One other verse he told me to memorize was from the book of Hebrews.
The writer of Hebrews states,

“Make every effort to live in peace with all men

 and to be holy; 

without holiness no one will see the Lord.” 

                                                                                       Hebrews 12:14.
As a Christian now of in excess of forty plus years I have found these words to be true.
If you consider yourself a Christian...
Please think about it.

In Truth

In truth
Henri Nouwen said,
"One of the most arduous spiritual tasks is that of giving up control and allowing the Spirit of God to lead our lives."- Henri Nouwen.
Jesus said,
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  
God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” John 4:23,24.
How do you worship God?
Do you simply go to church to feel good? Do you go to church for the music and to fellowship with friends?
Sadly many go to church to feel good. They go because they like the music and can meet their friends there.
It’s only a small percentage of people who attend church that do most of the work. Every church big or small has a need for more workers.
And perhaps, just perhaps, if the truth be known only a small percentage of those attending a church are truly Christians.
I was once told by a pastor that the people that were brought up in the church are the hardest to reach.
They have made going to church a lifestyle. They know what to say and when to say it. They know all the rules of the church and all the ritual. They even know a good bit of scripture. They may even say, and sincerely think they have Christ in their lives but they do not.
They believe there is a God but they do not put their faith in Him.
The writer of Hebrews tells us we need to have faith in God, writing
“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.” Hebrews 11:6.
He defines faith as,
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  Hebrews 11:1.
Faith for a Christian is believing in God and serving Him. It means worshipping God as Jesus said “in spirit and in truth”.
One of the definitions the Oxford dictionary gives for spirit is, “...the real meaning or intention of something as opposed to its strict verbal interpretation.”
We as Christians have to really mean what we are doing as opposed to simply praying because it’s the thing to do. When we sing praises to God we have to truly mean what we are singing as opposed to singing because we feel good.
Faith in God and a sincerity of worship is essential in the Christian life. We have to be willing to give our whole life to God. As Henri Nouwen said,
"One of the most arduous spiritual tasks is that of giving up control and allowing the Spirit of God to lead our lives."
That’s what true faith in God is all about. Giving up control of our lives to God. Allowing God to work through us to complete His work on this earth.
Please think about it.