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