Faith's Hope

 

    Faith is hope and trusting Jesus with your lived now and for eternity.  It gives life beauty, Heaven glory, and your heart joy.  Faith is having fellowship with God for eternity.  You get God's presence now through the Holy Spirit living in you.  You have expectations for eternity without sin and all the trouble that it brings.

    Jesus gives you the capacity to live a complete, full, and purposeful life.  You are a prized creation of God's and hold great potential if you can get out of your own way.  Your life can be abundant with blessings and joy.  All you have to do is chose to live out your faith boldly and trust God to take care the details.  

    Faith's hope provides an abundant life.  That means it the it hold Jesus at the center and blessings pour out of your life in great quantity.  Your life is more than adequate.  It is well supplied, abounding, and rich.  An abundant life will still have sorrows, crisis, disappointments, defeats, and hurts.  It does not mean that sin will not get in the way at times.  However, when you pray, you can expect things to happen.  God makes you stronger than you think you are.

    As a Christian, you are meant to live life now.  Do not wait for eternity to start.  You are free to live now.  Life is a gift, so use that gift to serve, love, and peace now.  God is in control, but you have choices on how your life will look.  You either trust Jesus or you do not.  

    Faith's hope for eternity is how you find connection to God in Heaven.  Eternity is hard to comprehend, but you do know that it is a long time.  Be grateful that you can see the benefits now.  Thank God for the security that you will not have an eternity in agony.  There are only two options and you get to choose which location you go.  Eternity with God is victory over sin and death.  You get to be with Jesus in his glory and never be separated.  Your hope will be fulfilled.  

John 3:16-17, 10:6-10, 14:1-4, Romans 8:12-30, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, Galatians 2:17-21, 3:6-14, 5:22-26, Ephesians 1:9-14, 2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-9, & Revelations 21:1-7

"Turning to Faith"

 

    The Bible can be confusing for some people because they do not understand the culture, dialect, and history.  The original languages were Hebrew, Greek, and then Aramaic.  Hebrew and Greek are abstract concept languages.  Aramaic made the Bible tie together a little better by adding in distinguishing logic without altering the stories.  The way the Bible is told is significant in helping a person turn toward faith over logic.

    God wants you to have a full and fulfilling life.  If you do not have that, then it is due to the choices you have made in life.  God offers forgiveness to those willing to turn away from their sin.  You can never achieve fulfilling relationships on your own.  You need God's help.  It all starts with your relationship with Him and will spread out into your other relationships.  God Chose you.  He intervened for you.  All you have to do is turn to Him in faith.

    Turning to God is realizing that the path you are on is not the best path.  That getting on God's path is a far better path for you even if it is not easy.  It will allow you to see the world, people, and everything in a different way.  To turn to God is to repent.  It is to choose to turn away from your sinful nature to trust Jesus and listen to the Holy Spirit.  

    To turn to God and salvation is to turn away from idols, selfishness, and hate.  You turn from unrighteousness to mercy and love.  You turn from death to life (this includes eternal life).  You turn from self interest to compassion for other people.  You stop trusting yourself and start trusting God.  Faith gets you through everything that life throws at you because you know you are not fighting your battles alone.  You know that God is fighting some battles so that they never touch you.  

Psalm 34:11-18, Isaiah 45:20-22, 55:6-7, Ezekiel 33:10-11, Luke 13:1-5, 15:8-10, Acts 3:17-23, Romans 10:5-13, 1 Corinthians 15:3-9, & 1 Peter 3:8-12

Faith & Sin

 

    You can be a Christian and sin, but sin cannot enter Heaven.  When you become a Christian you are able to see sin for what it is in a new way.  It should grieve you to sin to the point that you repent quickly if not immediately.  If you continue to live in your sinful nature, then your life is not producing fruit.  From the human perspective it will look like you never really got salvation, but God is the judge.  Salvation is between you and Him.

    God is holy, righteous, just, and sinless.  He will never allow sin or anything unholy to enter His home.  He is perfect and if you are a true Christian once you leave this world you will go live eternity in perfection too.  No more influence from Satan.  No more misrepresentation, divided hearts, or confusion.  There will be no more pain, suffering, or misery.  There will only be peace, joy, worship, and love.

    You are commanded to control your thoughts because your thoughts turn into words and actions.  Your words and actions will bring you closer or drive you further from God.  God wants a close relationship.  He sent Jesus to be the bridge.  He sent the Holy Spirit to help you in this world to stay close to Him.

    Sin deserves punishment, but God is judge to sin.  Sin causes division between you and God.  Sin is what leads you to eternal death.  Jesus is the only interception that comes through faith to stop eternal separation from God.  Sin always cost more than you are wanting to pay.  Faith always brings life to the soul.  Salvation is impossible without Jesus.

    God's love is perfect and will drive you to live faithfully.  Sin is the gift from Satan where he twisted your heart to want to do evil things.  The contrast is vivid.  Faith brings life and sin brings death.  God love for you is merciful because He gives you time.  God's judgement on sin is not merciful.  If you face Him on judgment day without ever accepting His gift of salvation, then your eternal fate is bond.  There will be no getting out of it.  If you choose sin over faith, then you choose eternal death.

    Faith comes with urgency.  If you are a true believer, then you should feel urgency to make sure that everyone you know has the opportunity to know God.  If they reject God, then it should grieve your heart because you know what they face.  In time your heart should yearn to tell strangers about Jesus, so they can become a part of your holy family. 

    Fear can triumph over faith if you are not careful.  Fear of consequences will keep you silent if you do not fear God's displeasure over people's opinions.  To deny God means you will be denied one day when you face God.  Be careful about what gets the majority of your attention and heart.  Make sure you keep God in the center.  

    Faith is Jesus is the only way and you need to live that truth proudly.  Everyone deserves to know that truth.  You can tell anyone.  God will put people in your life to give you the opportunity to introduce them.  If you miss the opportunity, then God will bless someone else with the opportunity, but you missed your blessings.  If people don't hear about Jesus, then how are they supposed to believe and turn away from their sins.  If they don't turn away, then they will die eternally.  A real relationship with God is what everyone's soul longs for even if they don't know it.  It is wrong to keep Jesus to yourself.  

John 3:16-17, Romans 3:23-26, 5:12-17, 6:20-23, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:5-11, James 1:12-15, & 1 John 1:8-10

Impossible Faith

 

    The Bible is full of things that are impossible to believe, but to have faith you do believe.  You know that anything is possible when God is involved.  Just because it is impossible for humans or logically does not mean it did not happen and will not happen.

    Some things are impossible.  God cannot lie.  He does not evil.  He cannot allow evil into Heaven because He declared it and cannot lie.  You know it is true if you understand God's character.  God is loving and just.  His justice makes many unhappy, but His justice is unbiased and can't be manipulated.

    Humans are sinful by nature.  The first sin revealed that truth and the fact that no one has stopped sinning since has confirmed it.  Sin was invented by Satan, but nothing happens without God's permission.  That means God allows us to be influenced by out sinful nature, but He never wanted you to sin or made you sin.  It is your choice to sin or turn away.  God allows it or there would be no point in free will.  The battle of purity versus sin is the battle between God and Satan.  You were never meant to be in it, but Satan wanted to hurt God through you, me, and everyone else.

    When sin feels like it is consuming the world or you, remember that God is stronger than sin.  He told you to flee, so flee from sin.  He will always give you options.  You may not like the options, but you do have options.  If you choose to follow Jesus faithfully, then your options become a little more clear.  They are not easy, but they are simple.

    God is love, just, and righteous.  He gives you the ability to be all these qualities too.  The closer you move toward Him the further you get from your sinful nature.  God is merciful to those that come to Him, but there is no mercy on judgment day for those who rejected Him.  God has to judge sin because of who He is.  

    Sin is missing the mark or being ethically wrong.  Basically it is falling short of God's standards either by rebellion, or transgression.  If you refuse to obey even one command, then you are a sinner.  If you wrong someone else, then you are a sinner.  If you knowingly do not do what is right, then you are a sinner.  If you do not believe, then you are a sinner.  If you betray trust, then you are a sinner.  If you chose your desires over God, covet, lust, or hold hatred in your heart, then you are a sinner.  Who has never sinned?  Jesus.

    When you meet Jesus, you are in an impossible situation because you can't escape sin without Him.  You will never be able to walk away from your sinful nature.  It has to be rooted out and you can't find the roots without the Holy Spirit.  It normally starts with asking questions to seek understanding.  Then a person may visit church, look into Biblical literature, listen to Christian broadcasting or songs, and/or seek fellowship.  

    Salvation is a one time decision, but ridding yourself of your sins takes a lifetime.  You repent and chose faith over logic.  You are cleansed and all your sins before that moment disappear from existence.  After that you can never lose your salvation, but you do need constant spiritual cleaning or renewing.  You get to start over, but you are still human with a sinful nature that has to be starved and destroyed.  It becomes a life long journey, but with hope and new understanding.

Deuteronomy 32:1-4, 1 Kings 8:22-24, Psalm 9:13-16, 25:4-7, Jeremiah 31:3-6, Matthew 12:33-37, John 3:16-17, 15:9-17, Romans 5:6-11, Ephesians 2:4-7, Hebrews 11:1-6, James 2:12-13, & 1 John 4:13-16

Available Faith

 

    Faith is available for everyone.  Not everyone will accept the opportunity.  Faith is not automatic.  It is a choice that becomes a lifestyle.  God is holy and good.  He makes those that chose faith holy and good.  That means if you are a true Christian that you are set apart in the world.  

    You are God's most prized possession.  He enjoys blessing you and having fellowship.  However, He will not force Himself upon you.  If you choose to rebel, then He will allow you to but you will also face the consequences.  When you face consequences you can't blame God.  He set boundaries and you chose to cross them.  It was your choice, so your consequences are all on you.  Sin will never be allowed to enter Heaven.

    God is perfect.  He choses you in your imperfection and sinfulness to have a relationship with you.  He pursues you.  You don't start pursing back until you accept faith.  This is why it is impossible to make it to Heaven without Jesus.  

    Human nature is rebellious.  No one is without sin.  It doesn't matter what the sin is, you have sin that needs to be rooted out and destroyed.  Sin is what separates us from God.  It doesn't matter if you see yourself as a good or moral person.  Unless you accept salvation, you are still lost in your sin.  Sin is not defined by people.  God has told you what sin is and you chose to accept it or not.  

    Jesus is the proof of God's love for you.  Jesus communicated what righteousness and God's justice is.  He lived and died to display God's love for you.  This made salvation available to you and everyone else.  Faith is available.  It is your choice to accept the gift or reject it.

Psalm 86:8-17, 94, 99:1-5, 130, 139:1-16, 145, Isaiah 6:1-7, Romans 3:9-18, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:5-11, Titus 3:3-7, James 4:17, & Revelations 1:17-18

Faith in Discipleship

 

    The Great Commission lays out what is expected out of discipleship.  It is repeated in a few places, but it is short.  There is a reason it doesn't go into great detail.  Jesus lived his life with those men for three years.  He was with them day and night.  He had taught them how to disciple during that time.  The Great Commission is just the commandment not to stop and teach others how to continue until he returns.

    Discipleship begins with leading someone to salvation.  The next step is forgiveness.  God forgives you for all your transgressions at salvation, but you have to learn how to forgive too.  You have to learn how to forgive like Jesus to be able to be a disciple.

    Discipleship is acknowledging God's authority over you, willingness to go out into the world in Jesus' name, teach others about Jesus, and live life with the Holy Spirit in you all the time in all ways.  It comes down to telling the world that Jesus is the only way to God and eternal peace.  Forgiveness is offered to everyone, but not everyone will have forgiveness.  It is a personal choice that no one can make for anyone else.

    Part of discipleship is learning your Bible.  You study it.  You find the connections for yourself.  You work through doubts, confusion, and life questions.  You memorize Bible verses that will help you in your daily life and to lead others to Jesus.  It comes down to making yourself available for God to use and investing in your relationship with Him.

    Discipleship requires true faith in Jesus' birth, life, death, resurrection, and his appending return.  Jesus is the only way.  There are no alternative routes to eternal peace.  This truth should give you urgency to be a disciple in the world today.  

    Discipleship is going to where the lost are not expecting them to just show up where you are.  You go to them and meet physical and emotional needs, so you have a door to meet spiritual needs.  You want them to want and seek a relationship to their true provider.  

    You have to devote time to the lost just as much as you do investing into your personal relationship with Jesus yourself.  Otherwise you are vulnerable to fall into trap and lose your witness.  Show the lost that Jesus is loving, warm, and welcoming not aloof, standoffish, or an unattainable thing that only a select few get.

Matthew 7:13-23, 28:18-20, Luke 9:21-27, John 3:16-17, 8:31-32, 13:31-35, & Philippians 4:10-14

Faith for the Lost

 

    How do you reach people in your life that are lost?  You can't do it on your own.  You need to pray for them, live out your faith unapologetically, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.  You need to remember the life you had before your leap of faith.  What drove you to Jesus?  What did your have to give up of your own life to follow Jesus?

    Living life without Jesus is fun, but it doesn't go anywhere.  It leads to momentary satisfaction, but never fills your soul with peace.  For the people who do not want to let go of their fun time, you have to show them that Christians know how to have a good time too.  It just looks a little different.  

    Some people may not even realize that they are lost.  They are living a good life thinking that they will go to Heaven or don't care about eternity.  Everyone is lost until they are not.  Even after you become a Christian it is easy to fall off the path.  You have to walk hand in hand with Jesus and trust the path that he laid out for you.  If you don't you are a Christian, but your faith has no fruit.

    You can't force anyone to be a Christian.  All you can do is tell them the truth and pray.  The Holy Spirit will do everything else.  However, faith is a personal choice.  If they reject it, then they will have to live with the consequences.  Their choice may hurt you, but it is their choice.  One of God's greatest gifts is free will.  Do not try to take that from anyone.

    If a person admits that they are lost, then you have a window to introduce them to Jesus.  Do not over think this.  If you know the person, then you know how to talk to them.  Do not go through a check list or try to be perfect and go by some exact plan.  Be natural.  Be yourself and follow the Holy Spirit's guidance.

    Do not assume that a lost person is stupid.  Many are highly logical.  It is their logic that works against them.  Meet them where they are.  Use intellect to counter their arguments.  It may get through or it may not.  All you can do is what you are directed to do by the Holy Spirit.  You can then walk away with a clear conscience.

    It may be tough to talk to strangers, but if the Holy Spirit directs you then you need to try.  People need help in life.  If you don't step up, then you never know if anyone else will.  Salvation may be confusing for some people, so take the time to invest in your testimony and how it happened for you.  Keep it simple.  Make sure they understand that salvation is free, but following Jesus can cost you everything.

    Avoid confusing talk.  Don't go too deep into the Bible.  The faith journey is a life journey.  You can't get everything on the first day.  Take it slow.  It is a life long race not a marathon to get a prize.  Show them what really matters in life and then eternity because salvation starts here and now.  You don't just wait until you die to enjoy it.

    Part of discipleship is to teach them how to follow Jesus after salvation.  It is teaching them how to prioritize God.  You teach them how to search for God's truth, promises, and love on their own.  You teach them the urgency to share God's Word without being perfect.  You teach them to use what they have and be grateful.  

    Teach them how to deal with discouragement, waiting, prayer, and not always getting the happy ending they wanted.  Success looks different on everyone, so teach them no to compare themselves to you or anyone else.  Celebrate the victories where you find them and let go of the disappointments.

Isaiah 41:8-10, Matthew 11:25-30, Romans 10:1-4, & 2 Peter 3:8-10