Faith

Hi,
Another cold snowy day, but at least the sun shined for awhile. It's been a good day and the Lord has blessed, as usual. Nothing much to report, so on with the blog.
I'm going back to where I left off in 1 Timothy 6:11-12. I've already blogged on righteousness and godliness, but now it's time for faith. The dictionary describes faith as: trust, confidence; complete acceptance of a truth which cannot be demonstrated or proved by the process of logical thought (i.e. religious faith).
I know from experience that when I put my faith in God, He never fails to help, show me something, uphold me in His right hand, etc. I trust God, for many things. I trust Him to help me, my family, show me more of who He is; the list goes on. When I put my faith in God, He works His righteousness in me.
Without faith, I cannot be saved. I trusted the work Christ did on the cross for me, dying to take away my sins. This gives me eternal life with Him, instead of separated from Him. Many people haven't and won't trust Him and put their faith in Him for their salvation. They argue that what they can't see doesn't exist. Hebrews 11:6 tells us: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."That verse alone deserves a blog!
Now comes the cruncher of all verses on faith: Hebrews 11:1: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Going back to 1 Tim. 6:11, it tells us to pursue faith. We have to WORK for faith! It doesn't happen by osmosis. So, that begs the question, how do we get faith?
I personally think it means basically telling God that you have decided in your heart and mind that He exists, that He is God, that He will do as He says He will, etc. Faith isn't a feeling folks, we have to do something to make it happen. The best part, is that God meets us in our need and gives us stronger faith as we trust Him each time.
There are days when things are hard/difficult that I'll tell Him: "I choose to trust You." I choose to abide in Him and not trust in my feelings or what I see happening. That surrender of self (trusting in me to accomplish, whatever) and choosing to trust in Him builds my faith stronger.
So, are you pursuing faith? Are you choosing to trust Him and as your faith builds, to manifest your growing faith? I manifest mine when I share how He has helped me through something, or when I choose to do something that's spiritually mature instead of something straight from my flesh (sin). I choose Him over me and He blesses me with stronger faith and maturity.
How mature is your faith? Do you trust when things are difficult? How do you respond when trials/tribulations/persecutions come your way? Remember Romans 12 and the guidelines to maturity.

Faith in a God who is faithful,
Sandy

Catch and Release

Hi,
What a beautiful winter day. The sun shining on the snow made it sparkle greater than diamonds. I don't like cold and ice, but when the Lord "pretties up" His creation, it's worth enjoying.
The other day I was thinking about the phrase "catch and release". When we go fishing, we practice catch and release. We catch the fish, admire it and then release it. Some people have great pride in their catches and even capture the moment with a photo.
It made me think about when we go to church. Do we "catch" the message from God's word, enjoying it thoroughly, then the moment we leave church, we "release" it in the sanctuary and not take it home to enjoy and live it?
At church we're studying Romans chapter 12. The book of Nehemiah is my favorite, but Romans 12 is my favorite chapter. It tells us how to live a life pleasing to Him. I convicts me when some of the things that it talks about are happening in my life. I need to act not react. I need to purposely love, when what I want to do is lash out in pain.
The Lord is teaching me about perseverance during trials, testing and persecution. I have to say that I'm not enjoying this teaching at all. When I hear scripture taught on Sunday's, I have to obey because that's what pleases God, and let my feelings follow.
God knows our hurts, frustrations, pain and He works in us and through us, to His glory. Romans 12:12 tells us: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." I have to admit that it's hard to be joyful in hope when there's affliction. The prayer part I have, but I need to be careful of my attitude, that it honors God.
Another part is to make sure that in my pain or suffering, to keep my eyes on Him and not self. That's hard in the best of times, but it becomes idolatry if we focus on self and not Him. It's okay to tell Him our troubles, but when we think more about that and self, our focus is off Him, that makes it idolatry. That's a hard thing to do, always put Him first, especially when we're in pain, no matter the source.
It's all about choice isn't it? Do we choose to catch the knowledge and apply it to our heart and life, or release it before it has a chance to become part of our life? It is a decision.

Deciding for Christ not self,
Sandy

Doris Day!

Hi,
It seems ages since I've written and it is. The babies are born and doing well and I'm finally home. I've been resting. When I don't even want to look at emails/answer them, I know I'm too tired to do anything but the basic stay alive and the house/laundry stuff.
I got my haircut on Tuesday. I'd like to say that I feel like a new woman, but I don't. Sandy cuts my hair really well, but when she fixed it this time it was over the top. She made me look like Doris Day with hair way out and curled. I came home and brushed it to calm down the "new" look. Now I look like me again.
My hair is still in the growing out period, but it looks just like I used to wear it years ago before we became missionaries; Sandy calls it a layered bob. I really don't want that look again. I do like longer hair for the winter, so I'm going to keep what I have, for now. Come summer it's short again. I don't think I'd mind the Doris Day look if I could sing like her and make
millions! :))))
I really don't have a spiritual blog today but I will soon, probably next week. My life is slowly getting back on track, but it's not there yet.
I miss you all and are glad that you're my friends.

Blessings,
Sandy