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Building Faith
I've been challenged and excited lately thinking about faith. When one
thinks of the word faith in Christianity it seems the default meaning
is mere faith in the existence of God. I believe that faith moves far
beyond just believing that God exists. I've come to understand that faith
is something that is to be excercised daily. We can prove ourselves faithful
or faithless on a daily basis.
Faith is something that should grow as we grow in Christ. I believe God
would have us know and pursue faith above and beyond faith in God's existence.
Having faith that there is a God is the most basic of faith and is where
faith begins. Our very salvation calls on us to take faith a step further
and believe not only there is a God, but that His son Jesus was God as
well. And Jesus' death on the cross is sufficient to restore for us a
relationship with a Holy God. Believing Christ is the only way to God
is definitely a greater step of faith then believing that God exists.
The word calls on us to exercise our faith. Here are a few ways you can
exercise your faith on a daily basis:
- Believe God is REALLY there, believe that He cares about every detail
of your day and life. This should be a given but I know I need to be
reminded of this.
I move along my busy day so fast, just offering general prayers up to
God like "Lord, give me a good day today" or "Lord, keep
us safe this week" and then I'm off, running on my own power. If
I believed He was REALLY there I'd thank him for the sunshine, I'd ask
him to help me find my car keys, I'd ask for wisdom for the small decisions
and choices to make throughout my day as well as offer praise and thanksgiving
for blessings I experience throughout the day.
- Believe there is power and life found in God's word. It's not just
a book, it is God's precious word. We'd probably read it more if we
REALLY believed that. I probably own 10 different Bibles. I've got Bibles
in most rooms of my house and probably a few in my car. It takes all
of my being sometimes to spend just a few moments daily in His word.
There are so many things that try to rob us of spending time in God's
word every day.
Of course we need to be mindful that the Devil does not want us to grow
in Christ so I'm sure he will do what he can to keep us away from pursuing
God more intimately. Ironically, many times it's the blessings of life
that God has given us that can rob us of time spent with Him in prayer
and reading.
Our families, our jobs, our stuff, ...all wonderful things God has blessed
us with, and all things that can keep us from spending time in the Word.
We need to guard our personal time of reading as precious and absolutely
necessary. It is our food. Without it we exist with starved souls.
- Believe that heaven is our true home. I read a book recently called
"A Life God Rewards" It talks about how God will greatly reward
us in heaven for how we live our life here on earth. We need to think
of heaven more. Our time on earth is a mere blip to what awaits us in
heaven.
But everything we do here on earth effects how we will spend our days
in heaven. How many of us are satisfied with just GETTING to heaven?
God spends much time in His word instructing us how to live life here
because there are significant rewards for us in heaven. Let's be honest,
how many of us desparately await to see God's blessing on us displayed
here on earth? We ask for health, comfort, and for him to fulfill our
earthly desires. We want to see evidence of His love, favor, and grace
by the blessings He bestows to us in this life.
Of course God wants to bless us here, but He also wants us to lay up
treasure in heaven. I think when a believer lives a life of faith they
are mindful that this time on earth is just the beginning, it sets up
everything to come. When we are focused on heaven we will be able to
handle great blessings as well as terrible tragedies with a different
perspective.
It takes faith to live life today for heaven. Ironically, to live life
for our coming day in heaven is to live life here on earth to the fullest.
Why would we want to miss out on that?
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