Living Out Faith

Over the course of a year and a half, I read the entire bible. This was one of the biggest victories of my life. For me, reading is something that brings great discomfort and something that I have struggled with ever since my youth. Though I was and am very proud of completing such a task, I know I have put myself in a challenging situation. As a Christian, I am called to love God through obedience of the word. By reading the whole bible, I have forfeited any excuse for not following biblical teachings. I read so I would know more about God and know how I should conduct myself being as one of his disciples. For many Christians, believing in God is a sufficient exercise of faith, but is this faith at all? Is it faith to just believe and not act on those convictions? What I propose is that the words faith and belief have been incorrectly interchanged for one another when in actuality; they are two different things that both are needed for true to devotion to God.

To believe something takes no effort at all. If I think that pressing the power button on the television will turn on the electronic, then that is belief. For me to actually take that belief and put into action by pressing the power button is faith. Though it only took a small amount of faith to press the button, Jesus did say,“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move” (Mat 17:20). Furthermore, in the book of James, a power piece of writing is summed up in one of the most recognizable five words in Christianity: “faith without works is dead.” To draw on the above example, to believe the power button with turn on the television, but never actually doing so is dead faith. I mean, what is the point of believing in something if one never acts on said belief?

Remember, faith is a natural reaction to a strong belief in something. Everyone has faith. Though faith has been strongly associated with metaphysical religion, everyone has faith in something. People go to work, voted for Obama, visit the doctor, and, yes, sit in chairs because they have faith in those things. What I want to do is challenge my Christian readers to consider this question. If a Christian believes that following Christ is the only way to heaven, then what will be the natural reaction? Will it be allowing a bible to gather dust? Will it be ignoring the pains of people both foreign and domestic? Will it be a complete refusal to ever talk to anyone, but your church friends about the awesomeness of Christ? These are question I still struggle with, but the challenge still remains. If I am going to call myself a Christian, how will I act out my faith?


Listen to the songs that inspired this blog below and help support those artist by purchasing their music at Amazon or Itunes.

"Faith that Works" by Json
"Walk by Faith" by Jeremy Camp

Church Leaders

Hebrews 13:7 - Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

When I first came to the Springfield International Church of Christ, the couple that was leading the church was Daren and Elke Turner. I was a knucklehead back then (something I still struggle with), and I never got a chance to properly build a relationship with that family before they moved to Tulsa Oklahoma. I was also not a member of the church, and I was jumping from one ministry to the next so fast that I was not giving anyone a chance to take my under wing. Flash-forward two years and I find myself a member of great church that loves me and supports my faith to the best of their ability. Even while I was struggling with my decision to join the church, I found myself seeking out the friendship and guidance of one Jeremy Jobe. Following a period of time of transition, Jeremy and his wife Cheryl were chosen to lead the church for the foreseeable future. As a result of the time I spent with the Jobe’s and after all I have seen them do in the church, I realize that as the leaders of my church, these two play an extremely important role. They not only have poured into me as a Christian, but also had responsibilities to the all the members of the church, not to mention visitors and do not forget that they are married with two adorable kids while each working a job. It is hard as a single college kid who lives by himself to understand the extent to which they struggle with who knows what, but I do know that as my leaders, they need my support and prayers.

As the leaders of the church, the Jobes pour so much out into all the members of the church. Often, church leaders are forgotten by the church members. Somehow, leaders of churches have been given giant Ss on their chest and people often just assume that they will be fine. To think this is both ignorant and dangerous. I can only speak about the Jobes, but I have seen them pour their hearts and lives out into several people, I have seen them watch members leave the faith, and I have seen them go through a struggle with the health of their own family. Though they are appointed as leaders of the Springfield Church, they are still mortal; fragile beings.

Once again, I am a college kid… what can I do to help my church leaders? First of all, constantly pray for them. Everyone needs to be prayed for, but understand that the church leaders have the biggest bull-eyes on them and Satan really wants to break them. Next, try to figure out ways to encourage them. Though they are leaders, they are still people. They will go through struggle and they do need friendship. Finally, tell them that they are appreciated. The reason for this may be different for each person, but I know that my church leaders absolutely give everything they can for the members of the church and they are worth me doing these three things.

Misdirection

A misdirection play is a used to make the other team go one way while the ball is actually going another way. Plays like can make a fool out an undisciplined defense and leave them looking like fools. Similarly, undisciplined Christians can be misguided by all sorts of things (work, school, etc). Recently, I learned that Christian can misdirect other Christians. I was on sermonsaudio.com listening to an interview with Paul Washer (A). To paraphrase the first question that was asked to Washer, the interviewer said, “What would you say to someone who was faithful to your ministry, but was not faithful to reading the bible?” Washer (after laughing about the question) replied with scripture "hearing but not hearing and seeing but not seeing."(Eze 12:2 (B)). Hearing him say that really made me think for a about my dedication to God. Though I try to engulf myself in a Christ centered life, I sometimes narrow my site and only focus on the tool and not the potter. If all I do as a Christian is follow the ways and teachings of a person and not God, then I gravely risk my relationship with God. Men are full of flaws, even the most humble and caring of men still commit errors, but God does not. He is the ultimate architect and he is the one the Christians need to faithfully follow. It is true that people are put in Christian lives to act as an example of Christ (1 Cor. 11:1(C)), but that cannot be the end all of a Christian’s faith.

Living in the Bible Belt has given me a chance to debate items in the bible that I never knew were worth debating. Items such as how often should someone take communion, should their people instruments in church, and are tongues appropriate have been question that I have had to consistently discuss with other Christians. Strictly my opinion, none of difference of these things are important enough to try to impose on someone else how they should live their faith, but people do. There are Christian that latch on to this idea that everyone needs to latch on to certain ways of practicing Christianity and they spend all their time trying to convince someone to, for example, not clap during a worship service. Once again just my opinion, but if a Christians action is not a sin and if it is an earnest attempt to please and glorify God, who cares how it is done.

To all my Christians: do not allow the small stuff to bring hostility between a body that is to be unified under Christ (Acts 2:44 (D)). Also remember that though you follow a mortal (fill in the blank) for spiritual guidance and leadership, it is Christ that should receive your love, affection, and attention, not the (fill in the blank.) As I close, if the reader of this remembers anything, remember this: don’t let mortal things steal the love and adoration that God fully deserves.

A:http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1229091954150 B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel+12:2&version=NIV C:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20cor%2011:1&version=NIV D:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:44&version=NIV

Prosperity

Solomon, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and David were all great men of God who were blessed with great wealth and prosperity, among other things, for their faithful servitude. God loves to bless his children (Jer 29:11(a)), and Christians today are no exception. Though the aforementioned men received blessings of money and power, God may not bless all his children in the same way. In the case of the rich young man (Luke 18:18-23 (b)) it was not in God’s plan for that particular person to be rich. This leads to the ultimate question for this article: why do people pursue God to get rich?

To illustrate what I’m saying and going to say, consider this story: Two children are given assignments from their teacher each week to complete. After completing each of the first two projects the children receive candy for their work. After these two occasions, the teacher stops giving them candy for completing assignments. One child quickly loses interest in the weekly assignments because the reward is gone. Still, the other child continues to work just as hard because that child knows the reward that comes at the end of the year. By the time school is over, the first child had completely given up doing the assignments, while the second child, though weary from a long hard year of work, did the work to near perfection. The teacher rewards the second child with a gift far greater than any reward these children had ever seen. The first child looks on in envy as the second child enjoys the prize; a prize that the second child will always have and that will bring true joy to the child forever. On the other hand, the first child is left with nothing; the child pursued a temporary gift and because the child’s sight was narrow, the child missed a chance to achieve the greatest reward of all.

These two children are like many Christians. The first pursued the short, temporary prize and second pursued an ultimate goal while enjoying the reward long the way. The first is like the Christian who follows God to achieve wealth and status. They work because they want to be rewarded immediately with money, good health, or some other worldly gain. Because they pursue worldly things, when the rewards stop, so does their love for God. However, the second child is like the Christian who seeks God no matter what. This type of Christian understands that gift will come along the way, but it is the pursuit of the kingdom that motivates their actions (Mat 6:33 (c)).

In the end, God test the hearts of all those who come to him (1 Thes 2:4(d)). He knows if someone is using him for selfish gain or if someone is following him out of love. I’m not saying that all Christians need to go and sell all their possession and live a complete life of poverty. What I am saying is don’t let your possession own you (Mat 6:19-21, 24(e)).

a: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=jer%2029:11&version=NIV
b: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2018:18-23&version=NIV
c: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat%206:33&version=NIV
d: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thes%202:4&version=NIV
e: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mat%206:19-21,%2024&version=NIV

I Got Proof Part 3

Welcome to part three. I'm going to jump right into the message and recap afterwards.
(BTW this series was based on the song “I Got Proof” by Katalyst and Lecrae” (A).

GENTLENESS

In other translation of the bible, the word meekness is also used. The words gentleness and meekness often make people think of being weak and fragile, but that is not the case. For Christians, gentleness means empathy/sympathy. Gentleness is about understanding other people’s need, wants, and so on. A gentle Christian knows how to approach a person at his or her level. Without gentleness, a Christian cannot affectively interact with others; especially non-believers.

FAITHFULNESS

What if there is no heaven, no God, what if the bible is a lie, what if everything you believe is a lie? Ultimately, a Christian without faith will crumble at question like this. Faith is something that gives Christians assurance when attacked by doubt. Simply put, faith is what gives Christians the ability to believe and what motivates them to seek God in everyway.

SELF-CONTROL

"Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control" Proverbs 25:28. A city without walls has no defense from an onslaught. A Christian without self control will fail to obey God and will quickly fall into depravity. Christians need to know how to control their mind, body, and emotion. Self- control is not limited to spiritual matters, but also to how people managed their funds, how committed people are to getting work done, and other such things. As a Christian becomes more mature with these early things, they will become more responsible to God (1 John 4:20 (B)).

Doing this three part series has been a great pleasure of mine. By no means is what I say an absolute truth, but it is biblically sound and practical. It is very easy just to say a person is a Christian, but other Christian should be evaluating themselves and other members of their church to confirm this title. When I look at a duck, I look for feathers, a bill, a quacking sound, and so on. If nothing in a person’s life matches up with Christian characteristics, how can that person possibly be called a Christian? In conclusion, if you are someone seeking to live a Christian life, here are some useful questions you can ask yourself to help with your daily walk:

Do I love everyone as if they were Christ Jesus?
Do I find joy in being a Christian?
Do I seek God’s peace in trouble?
Do I show patience?
Do I serve others out of kindness?
Do I display goodness through obedience?
Do treat others with gentleness?
Do I exhibit faithfulness towards God?
Do I have self-control?

A:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsb-I2x12NU
B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20john%204:20&version=NIV

I Got Proof Part 2

Only God can truly say who is a follow of Christ and who is not, but there are still ways that people can prove their faith. I am not talking about one time prayers or baptism but lifestyles. The way people conduct themselves on the daily is what proves their devotion to God. For the sake of this blog, I will continue to use the Fruits of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23(A)) as the basis for proving one's faith. Last week, I talked about love (treating all people with the same love we would show God), joy (the celebration of being a Christian), and peace (finding rest in God). For this week's installment I will address: patience, kindness, and goodness.

PATIENCE:

Patience should be the easiest one of these fruits to obtain, but it is not. Patience requires just doing nothing; allowing things to happen then acting when appropriate. As the bible says, "Be still, and know that I am God (Psa 46:10)." However, worry and anxiety tend to override people's ability to patiently wait for God to act. Instead, people try to figure out a way to take control of their lives rather than humbly stepping aside and letting God wok. I am not saying that we are to be lazy (Pro 13:4(B), Ecc 10:18(C)), but rather put trust in God's power and plan. People do have daily worries, but a Christian does not let the worries of tomorrow interfere with the worries of today (Mat 6:34(D)).

KINDNESS:

There are many ways to display kindness, but my favorite is service. Many Christians think the only way they can serve is by going on mission trips, feeding kids at soup kitchens, or some other organized activity. Kindness, however, should be a regular occurrence in one's day: making cupcakes for everyone, holding a door open, taking time to help someone with work. Kindness though service does not have to be a big flashy show for it to be pleasing to God. It's like what Matthew 25:40 says "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

GOODNESS:

It is really easy to get pessimistic about goodness when you read certain verses (Rom 3:10,23(E)), but Christians can act out goodness in their everyday lives. Consider the story of Jesus and the rich man in Matthew 19:16-28(F). When asking what good thing he must do to get to heaven, Jesus replies, "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." As Christian, we have been given certain parameters to live by, and it is through this obedience that we display the goodness of God.

That wraps up the second edition of "I Got Proof" the final part will be posted next Sunday.

A:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal%205:22-23&version=NIV
B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=prov%2013:4&version=NIV
C:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=ecc%2010:18&version=NIV
D:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat%206:34&version=NIV
E:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%203:10,23&version=NIV
F:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mat%2019:16-28&version=NIV

I Got Proof Part 1

Christians are expected to defend why they believe what they believe. As a result, many Christian gather facts, do research, and try every possible avenue to prove that Christianity is true. I applaud this effort, but my question for Christian is a smudge different. How do Christians prove to others that they are actually Christian? Easy answers include baptism, praying Jesus into your heart, and similar arguments, but these are one time occurrences in a person’s life. How can doing just one or two things in one’s life prove they are a Christian? Christianity is a long process that must produce fruit, so, with that said, over these next three weeks I will be taking a look at The Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23 _(A)) and how they prove is if a person is Christian. For the first installment, I will look at love, joy, and peace.

LOVE

I could make this section real quick by just saying go to Romans 12:9-21 _(B) or 1 Corinthians 13_(C). These two scriptures give the most concise definitions of love found in the bible, but I want to take it a step further. This past weekend I have been grumpy and rude because of (insert excuse). Because of (insert excuse) I thought it alright to be short tempered jerk. I was then hit with a spiritual left hook: “if the people you have been mean to today were Jesus, how would you treat them?" This thought humbled me good. As a Christian I should be treating people with the same love that Jesus gives me and should not allow my sinful nature to prevent me from loving others. To sum up what I said, go read 1 John 4:19-21_(D).

JOY

First off, we have been saved from sin, been promised a heavenly home, and have been made heirs along with Christ Jesus. This alone should make Christians joyful daily, but I forget about this sometimes. I get so wrapped up in all the wrong I do and how undeserving I am that I forget to celebrate how great a God I have. This celebration is not something reserved for church worship or party, but should be an everyday part of our lives. God has given us so many reasons to be joyful that Christians need to stop frowning and down casting their heads and start enjoying the blessing that God gives us (within reason).

PEACE

Peace is something I find very easy. I put my full trust in the lord and know that he has made me a promise to succeed (Romans 8:28_(E)). Peace is something that everyone needs. Life is stressful and many people turn to different things to realize stress (smoke, video games, etc.) These things are worldly though, and they will fail. God however does not fail. He will always be there for us in and out of times of need. Furthermore, it is hard trusting the unseen, but to hold onto the promises he has given us in his word (Psa 23_(F)) (Lam 3:22-28_(G)) is something we need to do to truly have peace in our lives. A true Christian will be able to see beyond worry and stress and will fix his or her lift to the comfort that is the lord Jesus Christ.

This wraps up “I Got Proof Part 1” come back next week for the second installment.

A:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=gal%205:22-23&version=NIV

B:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%2012:9-21&version=NIV

C:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20cor%2013&version=NIV

D:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20john%204:19-21&version=NIV

E:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=rom%208:28&version=NIV

F:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psa%2023&version=NIV

G:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=lam%203:22-28&version=NIV