Your Faith

 Your faith

In the book of Exodus we read,

“And God spoke all these words: 

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 

“You shall have no other gods before me. 

“You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  

You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,” Exodus 20:1-5.

Do you have other gods? Looking at the United States over the past year I question if many claiming to be Christians leaders and others claiming to be Christians have truly put their trust in God. 

Sadly it seems to me that other things are being mixed with their faith in God. First among them their rights as written in the constitution. Others mix their faith, with their belief in a particular political party or individual politicians.

As Christians we need to be careful who or what we put first in our lives. We as Christians cannot hitch ourselves to anyone or anything however good and noble they might be.

God must always be supreme in our lives. We cannot mix our faith with anything period. Either we are 100% for God or we are not. There is no gray areas. As Jesus said,

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24.

So where is your faith? 

Please think about it.

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.

Your Faith

Your Faith.
Job said,
“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face.”  
                                                                                                                      Job 13:15.
When I read this verse from the book of Job I couldn’t help but think Job had what my Jewish friends called “chutzpah”.
My question to both those who believe in God and those who do not, is are you certain about your faith? About what you have faith in.
It’s easy to say I grew up in such and such a faith or Christian denomination therefore I know I’m going to heaven. But are you sure?
Likewise it’s easy for someone who doesn’t believe in God to say I can’t see Him or touch Him therefore he doesn’t exist. But are you sure?
I as a Christian believe the following.
I believe God entered the world he created in the form of Jesus Christ His one and only Son. The apostle John writing,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men....
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 
                                                                                             John 1:1-4, 12-14
  I believe salvation is given to us by the grace of God. That we must accept that grace in faith. The apostle Paul writing,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                   Ephesians 2:8,9
I also believe the writer of the book of Hebrews who said,
           “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” 
                                                                                                                              Hebrews 11:1
“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.
I believe the words of Jesus who said,
...“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 
                                                                                                                                              John 14:6b.
I believe the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote,
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” 
                                                              Romans 3:23,24
  I believe the words of the Apostle John who wrote,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.  
If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.” 
   1John 1:9-10.
I as a Christian also believe one very crucial statement made by Jesus about Himself who said,
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”. 
                                                                                                           John 3:16-18.
I believe also the words of the Apostle Paul who wrote to the Roman’s saying,
“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.  
As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”  
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
                                                                                                                                  Romans 10:9-13.
I believe that by confessing my sins directly to God and believing that Jesus is the One and Only Son of God who came to this world to die for my sins, I become a Child of God,
The apostle John saying,
John said,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 
                  John 1:12,13.
This is what I as a Christian believe and place before you the reader to consider. If you are confident in your belief you have nothing to fear.
If on the other hand what I am is correct you have at the very least something to think seriously about.
As C. S. Lewis stated,
“Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
                                                        C. S. Lewis.
Please think carefully about it.