Wednesday, February 1, 2012

A Lesson in Faith

I am my kids' biggest hero. No matter what may come, they believe their dad can do anything. I love the feeling that I get when they make certain statements about what they are afraid of. For instance, my oldest daughter Morgan: "Daddy will beat up that mean monster if he tries to mess with me." And my son Keith, "My daddy can kick a soccer ball all the way to the clouds and catch it with his feet before it comes back to the ground." Now these are just a few of the things that they say about me that make my head swell with pride. They have so much faith in me. Now, I do not look forward to the day in which they will learn that daddy cannot do all those things. But, for the time being, I enjoy their faith.

This lead me to think on what is faith? How should I show my faith? And, what does faith do for a person. The first answer is easy. Faith by definition is the act of believing without seeing. Do we really believe that God is there, that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins, and rose again on the third day? We were not there to witness these events. But do we choose to believe it anyway? I do. Something so simple as to say I believe, just like my kids do in me.

Luke 18:16-17
"But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”"

We must have this childlike faith. It is not something that we can rationalize. We just have to take it for what it is. Just like our children do when we tell them something. I have found in my little study on faith that there are three things that faith can provide for us. The first, of course, is salvation.

Ephesians 2:8
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and [a]that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;"

Our belief in who God says He is and in His Son, is what saves us. Now I am not talking about just acknowledging that He exists. If you truly believe, you will make Him foremost in your life. You must choose to follow Him. Even Satan and all of his demons believe in God and Jesus, but they are not going to heaven.

James 2:18-20
"But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?"

The second thing that our faith gives us is hope. We are going to go through many trials in our lives. It is not because God does not love us. God is always right there. We just have to look right beside us. Many people talk about a silver lining in their troubles. I say that you will never see that silver lining if you do not look up at the storm and look for God. I have been through numerous trials in my life. And I have always looked to God for answers. And He has always been there. Most recently my 8 month old daughter had a very dangerous virus that usually turns into pneumonia and can be fatal for children her age. After the doctor checked her lungs, miraculously, there was no pneumonia. Two weeks earlier, she had a double ear infection. And she had allergic reactions to both of the medicines they tried. And I prayed for God's help and mercy to find something that she could take to clear it up. The doctor gave her a prescription that he had not prescribed for an ear infection in over ten years. Would you believe that that antibiotic is the number one drug used to treat pneumonia? You cannot tell me that this was not God! We have hope in our suffering.

Romans 5:1-4
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"

Isaiah 41:10
"Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

Lastly, our faith grants us power. We gain strength from God in all our circumstances. The way we see that power is to put our faith to work. We must use it every day. All Christians receive a spiritual gift once they are saved(1 Corinthians 12). We need to use it. When we use it, we not only become stronger, but we allow others around us to see our faith in action. And when people see that we live what we believe, that holds more weight than what we say.

Psalm 138:3
"On the day I called, You answered me; You made me bold with strength in my soul."

1 Timothy 1:12
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service,"

So, what is the condition of our faith? Are we living our faith where others can see it? Are we putting our faith to work? I hope you all find this helpful, as it did me.

Thanks for reading, and God bless you all this week!

5 comments:

  1. So glad to hear that you daughter is better, Derrick. You can clearly see that God had gone before you and had His hand on your daughter's life. That's exciting!

    Many blessings!

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  2. Great post, Derrick. Hopped over here from Phather Phil's blog. So glad God led me here!
    Blessings!
    Pam

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    1. Thanks Pam. I hope you will always feel blessed when you Stop by.

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  3. I love your three levels of faith. My faith becomes obvious to me when I follow the leading of the Holy Spirit down uncomfortable and difficult paths, but that is when God shows His power and gives me hope!

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