Faith to Accept

Faith to Accept
In the book of Proverbs we read,

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

But the greatest of these is love.”  

                                                        1 Corinthians 13:13

The New Testament essentially is the story of God showing His love for each individual on the face of the earth.
The Apostle Paul defines Christian Love. God’s Love when he writes,

“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.

  C. S. Lewis points out,
“He (Jesus) died not for men, but for each man. If each man had been the only man made, He would have done no less.” C.S. Lewis.
God’s wish is to meet each person where they are at. He desires to have a personal relationship with each every individual.
As a Christian I believe what C. S. Lewis wrote,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.”  C.S. Lewis
The apostle Paul confirms this statement saying,

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: 

While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” 

                                                            Romans 5:8.

All that is required of the individual is the faith to accept that love. The apostle Paul telling us,
“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  Romans 10: 9,10.
Thus the choice is yours. Will you accept the Love and Salvation that is offered through Jesus Christ or not?
Please think about it.

Stepping out of the boat

Stepping out of the boat
“Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.  
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,  but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. 
During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.  
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 
 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 
“Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  
But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 
Matthew14:24-32
What a wonderful illustration of how we let Christ work in our lives.  Here the apostles have just seen Jesus perform a miracle feeding five thousand men plus women and children.  They had witnessed other things Jesus had done and in this simple incident we see at least Peter still had doubts.                                
Peter recognized it was Jesus and said, “LORD, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
Peter then got out of the boat and as soon as he realized the wind was “boisterous” as the king James version puts it, his faith started to fade and he started to sink causing him to call to Jesus for help.
I think on many occasions we are like Peter.
We say “LORD do this for me.”  God does it and we start on our way, then when things start getting “boisterous” we start doubting and have to call out to God for help.
We have little faith at times.  Like Peter we have doubts and fears and have to call out to Christ for help.
Being a Christian is a growing experience.  We all have doubts and fears times when we feel God is not with us.
We, however, can take heart from the example of Peter.  Peter, here doubted, and he even ran away at the trial of Jesus.  However, on the Day of Pentecost Peter stood on the top of the house, and preached the Gospel.  He went onto stand before the Jewish leaders and proclaim the Gospel, seemingly, fearlessly.                              
Peter and the other Apostles were people just like us.  They had their doubts at times, as they learned from Christ.  They had their fears, but, as they listened to the teaching of Jesus, they grew into powerhouses, that quite literally changed the world in which they lived.  We must do the same.
In order for us to grow to overcome our doubts and fears, we must study the words of our LORD.  Study the Scriptures, and as Peter and the others in that upper room did, allow the Holy Spirit to come into our lives and work in us.
We must be wholly committed to God.
Where is your faith?
Are you willing to step out of the boat and walk on the water?
  Are you taking what you learned of Christ to the world?
Think about it.