Faith, From Mom

My Mom had a extended entry on faith in her journal.  I'm thinking we work through it in two, maybe three segments. It's a big topic to cover, and it's a beautiful part of our journey with the Lord, we need to take our time and let the Lord's gift of faith take root and blossom in our hearts.  For me, faith is a struggle...not so much in the big things, but in the little bits of life that we experience every day.  I'm sure most of us need growth in this area.  So prayerfully, I open Mom's thoughts, her "God visits" to you and ask the Lord to let faith rise up in each of us, growing strong, bold and secure.

From Mom:

Faith.  A belief or confident attitude toward God, involving commitment to His will for one's life. Believe, living by faith, covers various levels of commitment.

Best thought of as a combination of two ideas:  reliance on Christ and commitment to Him.  Genuine saving faith is a personal attachment to Christ.

Saving Faith:  involves personally depending on the finished work (Jesus died on the Cross for me) of Christ's sacrifice as the only basis for forgiveness of sin and entrance into heaven.  It is also a personal commitment of one's life to following Christ in obedience to His commands.

1 Timothy 1:12  I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that day.  

Faith is the divinely implanted principle of inward confidence, assurance, trust and reliance in God and all that He says.  Believe.

Mark 11:22  Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God."  

Mark 11:20-24  The next morning they as they passed by the fig tree He had cursed, the disciples noticed it had withered from the roots up.  Peter remembered what Jesus had said to the tree on the previous day and exclaimed, "Look, Rabbi!  The fig tree you cursed has withered and died!'  Then Jesus said to the disciples, "Have faith in God.  I tell you the truth, you can say to the mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea, and it will happen.  But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart.  I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.  

I need to learn to pray for a passion for and in prayer and faith.

1 John 5:1-5  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God.  And everyone who loves the Father loves His children, too.  We know we love God's children if we love God and obey His commandments.  Loving God means keeping His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.  And who can win this battle against the world?  Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.  

Faith, love and obedience are related to one another.  Faith brings us into a loving relationship with God.  Love for Him (God) leads to love for other Christians and to obedience of His commandments.

Saving faith is the instrument by which the gift (by grace) of salvation is received.

Ephesians 2:8 For it by grace (favor or kindness) you have been saved through faith.

Saving faith is thus distinct from the basis of salvation (which is grace, God's gift to us) and from the outworking of salvation which is good works.   True faith is in God or Christ, no oneself.

Faith
Accepts the Bible's record of who Jesus is
Of what Jesus has accomplished on our behalf
It also draws us near to God and we cling to Him tenaciously
I (the believer) enters God's presence with confidence.
I believe the Bible implicitly, knowing that it is God's living self-expression and so I submit to its judgment.

Finally, faith, I am willing to suffer with Christ.

From me.

Wow, a lot to take in.  What I've never seen before, or thought of is that faith is not just a belief.  It's not that I just believe God and all....but that I am COMMITTED to that belief and to Him.  I never thought of faith as a commitment before.  This is something I definitely want to mull over and explore with the Lord.  And I am really interesting in pursuing the connections of faith, love and obedience.  So much to think about and pray on!!  I hope this gives you some direction to go in your walk with the Lord, things to talk with Him about and seek out His answers in this area.

Do a faith check today!!