Wishing my Wonderful Friends and Family a Blessed, Safe, and Happy Christmas Week.
May the warmth of the season fill your hearts.
Christmas Week is here, despite all the trouble we've been passed through this year, it’s our desire to give you a new dose of inspiration!If we stop and give much consideration to the world around us, enough is going on to cause concern. It’s rather easy to find ourselves struggling with an unsettled feeling, not knowing what tomorrow may hold.
Having a troubled spirit was something that was experienced even when Jesus walked on the Earth over 2,000 years ago. He addressed this in John 16:33 when He said, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Looking around at current events is an easy tendency, but Jesus told us where we would find peace. We find it when our focus is on Him, and not the current condition of the world.
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.”
2 Corinthians 5:7 also tells us “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
At times, the word “faith” carries the same meaning as “trust.” We might be saying, “Lord, I don’t know what You are doing, or why I am facing this situation, but my faith is in You. I trust You.” It’s ok for us to not know what the future holds. However, because we are putting our trust in the One who has full control, we can rest our minds in knowing God’s got this!
While we‘re encouraged to surrender our own power and give the position of control to the Lord, we can also look at another part of faith, and apply it to our lives as well.
Several times, we see Jesus commend the faith of those whose lives He touched. That was the kind of faith that said, “I believe He is going to touch me, therefore I am going to do my part!” The woman with the issue of blood would not have received healing if she had not pressed through the crowd. The centurion’s daughter would not have been raised back to life if the man had not approached Jesus. (Both stories are found in Luke 8:40-56.)
On issues of having faith in God (trusting Him) and taking physical action that proves our faith, both show us that faith truly is an action word!
Results from faith are even produced through our own capabilities sometimes!
James 2:14-26 explains: “What good is it, my brothers if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ...”
And so, how can we apply all of this to our own lives?
Let’s have faith the God knows what He is doing in our lives and nothing is out of His control.
Let us also put walking shoes on what we want to see happen, along with our own contributions! When we say we are believing God for a great turnout to our upcoming church musical, let’s prove it by inviting someone to come!
God is a great big God and our active faith is pleasing to Him.
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