Practical Faith

How can faith be practical as well as spiritual? When we get into our car and turn on the ignition, we have faith that the motor will start and take us to our desired location.

If we previously had trouble with our car starting, we still attempt to start the car, hoping beyond hope that the engine will turn over and the car will transport us to our destination.

This is how faith works in the spiritual realm as well. We hear the gospel story, and we realize the potential we could have in life, if our spirit was actually Born Again rather than dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1; Romans 8:10).

We put our faith in God to fill us by His Spirit, to regenerate our spirit and to save us from the penalty of our sins. This is more than blind faith, because we see the results of our belief in changes in our desires, thoughts, words and deeds.

This change is not affected by sheer will power or human determination. It is a spiritual change that has nothing to do with our body or soul (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

It is something, which God does for us. It is a walk of faith, which does not depend on our human understanding or self-effort (Proverbs 3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Ephesians 2:8-9).

We cannot be good enough, wise enough, rich enough or powerful enough to earn our way to heaven. It is a gift from God just for us (Romans 6:23).

God's Spirit empowers us in the same way that the engine empowers the car. The power in the car energizes a dead hunk of steel into immediate life; and the Holy Spirit revives our dead spirit to live, move and have our being in Christ both now and for eternity (Acts 17:28).

Our life bears fruit for the Kingdom of God and our attitude and thoughts change from carnal to spiritual ones. The peace and joy of God flood our life.

We leave the world of dark destruction, influenced by sin and Satan's lies; and we enter the brilliant light of Christ, our ultimate Truth.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for planting our feet firmly on the Rock of Christ, so that neither temptation from the devil nor the storms of life can shake the bedrock of our foundation on Your Word and Your Spirit.

You removed the weight of sin from our shoulders by the righteousness of Christ, which You freely provide for us. Thank You for revealing to us by Your Spirit what Christ actually did for us on the cross, and how this revolutionizes how we view life and the activities we enjoy both now and in eternity.

Thought for the Day:

​​Faith in Christ impacts our daily life now, as well as determines our eternal destination; it is practical and influences the peace and joy in which we live our life.

The Faith of the Son of God

How can we live by the faith of the Son of God? First and foremost, we live by faith through the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His provision for us of regeneration and resurrection (Galatians 2:20; Titus 3:5).

Prior to Christ's appearing, Believers lived imprisoned under the law, our tutor to bring us to faith in Him. Now that Christ paid the penalty for our sins, we are freed from bondage to the law (Galatians 3:23). We obey through love instead.

We stand firm on our faith in the Rock of Christ throughout the issues of life (2 Corinthians 1:24). We are justified by this solid trust in Calvary's saving grace (Romans 3:30).

Faith has little to do with hope, trust or claiming God’s Word. It has everything to do with Christ who abides within us. If we did not have the faith of Christ within us, we could not have faith in Christ and His redemptive work for us on Calvary’s cross (Ephesians 1:7).

Through faith, we realize that God chose us as His children in Christ (Galatians 3:26). As God's righteous, we live by faith, and hold on to it with a clear conscience (Romans 1:17; 1 Timothy 1:19).

We live in God’s righteousness, not by keeping rules and regulations, but by the faith of Christ to us all (Romans 3:21-22.) We demonstrate our faith through our thoughts, words and deeds (James 2:18).

If we say we trust God, yet never step out in obedience to His will for our life, then what good is our faith? (James 2:14) Faith inspires our actions. Faith and obedience working together are complete (James 2:22).

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for vanquishing our doubts and increasing our faith in Your faithfulness (Romans 14:23). We find our health and strength in the name of Jesus (Acts 3:16). We obey Your direction in our life because of the faith of Christ within us (Hebrews 11:7).

Help us to be examples of sincere faith in You to future generations, so that they too will please You (Hebrews 11:6), grow in their faith, (2 Timothy 1:5) and live blessed lives (Galatians 3:9).

Thought for the Day:

Our genuine faith in God's faithfulness is of much greater eternal value than anything this temporal world has to offer. - 1 Peter 1:7

Trustworthy God

God resists the proud, but He gives an abundance of grace to those who humble themselves under His mighty hand (James 4:6). He loves the whole world, but especially His children (John 3:16; 1 John 3:1).

God gives His Saints, made righteous through the blood of Jesus, deliverance through all of our troubles (2 Corinthians 5:21). He hears our cries for help, stays close to the brokenhearted and heals those bruised in spirit (Psalm 37:17-18).

He loves those who honor Him with our life. He separates us from the penalty of our sin and remembers them no more. He understands our human frailties and has compassion on us (Hebrews 8:12; Psalm 103:12-14).

When life exhausts and discourages us with its many afflictions, God gives us hope and deliverance as we cry out to Him (Psalm 37:19). His love lifts us higher than the heavens (Psalm 103:11).

God gives us the fruit of our labors, which we accomplish through blood, sweat and tears. He turns our mourning into dancing (Psalm 30:11-12, 126:5). He collects our tears in His bottle and He avenges our suffering (Psalm 56:8; Romans 12:19).

We have no need to fret over those in our life with an evil intent or those who prosper in their iniquity. God takes care of every one of them (Psalm 37:1-2).

We can trust in Him with our whole heart, continue to work for His Kingdom, and He will bless us with the fulfillment of all of our efforts as He faithfully provides for all of our needs (Psalm 37:3).

Prayer:

Father God, we delight in Your presence in our life; we relish Your desires, which You place in our heart; and we trust in You to bring us success as we walk in Your will. We commit our every breath to Your service and acknowledge You before we take one step in the morning (Psalm 37:4-6; Proverbs 3:5-6).

We enter Your rest and wait on Your direction for each moment of our day. When we are tempted to worry, or to be jealous over someone else's blessings, we remember that You are always faithful, and that Your children inherit Your Kingdom as co-heirs with Christ (Psalm 37:7-11; Romans 8:17).

Thought for the Day:

God works out every negative trial for our ultimate good. - Romans 8:28