Faith develops. Faith grows.
I understand that. None of us have “perfect” faith.
Yet, without faith, it’s impossible to please God. (The Bible says so.)
If I want to please God, which I do, then I have to be a man of mature faith.
There are many times though, if I’m being honest, where my life is defined more by my lack of faith than the strength of my faith.
Just being honest.
It seems to me there are certain things that get in the way of my faith.
The greatest obstacles to my faith:
My self doubt and tendency to worry rather than pray (Ouch…that one hurts!)
My inability to forgive others (Yea, that blocks pure faith)
My lack of closeness to God when I neglect our relationship (That hurts to admit too…being honest again)
My lack of knowledge…or reflection…of who God is (The more I know him, the more faith I tend to have)
My inconsistency in spiritual disciplines (If I’m faithful to them…My faith is strong)
That’s my story.
Do any of those ring true for you?
Any you would add?
~ the fear of failure
~ the fear of future
~ failing to reflect and inherit the promises from Scripture
Fear is a great enemy of faith.
Fear and faith are great enemy..
Twitter: KariScare
says:
ALL of them ring true. I would add neglect of true fellowship (with God & with the body of Christ) as an obstacle to my faith.
Yes!
Ouch — what a slap in the face! And, of course, “thanks, I needed that.” I’m not sure I can call this an obsticle, just a self-limitation: It’s easy to have faith in what God is capable of doing, but nowhere near as easy to have faith in what God will actually do. I believe He *can* heal my blind friend, but I have zero expectation He will. So, does that mean my faith is weak?
It could be your faith is weak…or your doubt is strong. May be the same thing.
I understand that without faith it is impossible to please God. And understanding that faith grows, I wonder if maybe we've missed the point a bit. Without saving faith it is of course impossible to please God. But then, after salvation comes sanctification. Wherein we go from faith to faith, if we're growing. We can grow from little faith to great faith. That growth is accomplished in relationship.
So, the reason I say that maybe we've missed the point, is that "pleasing God" is not an act or action that we can perform, a posture we can hold or a deed we can do. Therefore, we must rest in the covenant of his blood and live our lives in "Eucharisto" giving thanks for His completed work in us through Christ. The sanctification process, then, is one where we reveal more of the completed work within ourselves through relationship.
The faith that pleases Him comes from Him to us which we reflect in increasing measure toward Him and our world as we stop "trying" to please God but instead rest in Christ's finished work and relate to God as sons and heirs instead of the beggars we were. I hope this clarifies and does not confuse.
Faith is like a tree. You plant a seed, water it, take care of it to grow. Since faith comes through hearing the word, the word is the seed but it has to be always watered by hearing the word for it to grow and produce fruits. Yes we are saved but salvation comes from believing in faith. You cannot be saved without faith and it is not a man who saves but God. So it is God who knows when truly you have accepting Him in your heart and saves you but for growing in faith, that is your responsibly. great faith means great heavenly reward. take a look on this http://www.christiantruthcenter.com/the-three-mai…
Your comments often go to Spam. Not sure why. You have great comments.
Joshua, I totally agree with your theology here. It matches mine. Christ has done ALL the work.I can't, however, simply “rest” in Christ without some effort of spiritual discipline on my part. My resting…unfortunately, would usually have me neglecting my faith. Perhaps I'm alone in that.
You are reflecting the message of Hebrews. "Let us therefore labor to enter into that rest" But, let me challenge you on that. What spiritual discipline can you perform that can impact the completed work of Christ in any way? I'm not talking works vs. grace, but simply, if it is finished, what can you do?
I think ultimately the "labor" to enter the rest is simply this, working out those human rituals until you see that they are unnecessary in light of simple and clean relationship with gratitude & praise, which is our spiritual act of worship. There is of course discipline in a relationship, dedicating time for certain things. But, in the end, the relationship is the reason rather than any specific outcome, such as being "pleasing."
You may find, as you explore this idea that the covenant has done it all, and that in that your "soul" struggles with what to "do" in response. This, I think is the true understanding of 1 Corinthians 13. I can do all of these things, but if I have not love they are nothing, useless. Notice how each time the outward act of Paul's "I" gets more desperate, until ultimately he "gives his body to be burned" but without the Love it is nothing. Can you sense the increasingly frantic activity of this "I" as he tries to prove to himself and God that he is spiritual?
This is the exposition of the soul at work, trying to "do" rather than simply rest and give thanks. The Love then, spoken of in Corinthians is loving God and others in response to what Christ has already done. It cannot be anything else, even compassion or empathy, giving, power or all else is inadequate to this simple understanding.
There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God… This is it, where we rest from our labors, as God rested from his. it's something to think about 🙂
Thanks.
Twitter: kmac4him
says:
Thanks for this…
They all ring true and mostly that I need to know God more. I need to need HIM most and more than I need me, others and this world.
I would add:
My focus. My focus, I call my followship meter. What – Who Am I Pursuing Most Today? Is my heart undivided in focus of Jesus and His Kingdom? Psalm 86:11? Am I living life out of an “earthly perspective” or a “kingdom perspective” in my thoughts, motives, words, deeds?
So true. Thanks