“What faith?”

Faith - complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

So many times we are asked how strong our faith in God is. The tragic but beautiful story of Rachel Scott (Columbine High School shooting) is told and we’re asked “How about you? Would you give your life and claim the name of Christ?”. This is a very important message to hear and something every one of us should be ready to do. What i don’t understand is why we are not challenged about making the same stand on a daily basis.

Complete trust or confidence is a tall order. An order that i think many of us do not understand. I know, unfortunately, that we are not taught what “complete” covers. Complete, in todays Christian society, seems to have become an idea isolated to only the part of our lives that we ration out. 

Mark 8:34-38 (NLT)

 ........... “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?  If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

When are we going to give God our undivided attention. My last blog focused on the selfishness that keeps us from God. Obviously, we need to “give up our lives”  for the sake of Christ and the word of God. What i have come to see is that we need to address our Faith first. So many of us don’t trust God to take care of us. We have been taught and believe that God can only use what we have and can get, instead of believing the He is our provider and supplies for all of our needs. 

Matthew 6:19-34 (NLT)

  “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

So what dominates your thoughts. Do you worry about things, maybe even your own selfish desires.  Ask yourself how you can do this and call yourself a Christian. How can you share the thoughts of unbelievers and claim the name of Christ? How can you claim to follow Christ, then ignore and even not believe the promises he has made to you? Where is your faith?

I have caught myself so many times saying “thank you God for your direction, i can’t wait to get on with your plan as soon as i get a few things in line.” What a load of crap!!! As soon as we bring ourselves or even our abilities into the mix, it throws faith right out the window. We have a God that has promised all of our needs. We need to claim this, believe it to be true and start being an example of a faith filled Christ Follower. Unless you turn from your selfish ways and take up your cross, you can not be a Christ follower. If you think anything other than this, YOU ARE WRONG.

Get in scripture and let the Spirit speak to you. Let the Spirit convict you and change you. Let God’s will for your life trump your own desires. What does your faith look like? Is your faith shriveled up, without growth, maybe even non-existent or is the foundation of your faith built on the promises of God and structure fashioned after the example of our Savior Jesus Christ. Not only that, but we as believers have been blessed with the Holy Spirit that lives inside of us. Are you letting the Holy Spirit speak into your life? Are you letting the Holy Spirit work in and through you? Is the Holy spirit even a part of your life? What does your faith look like?