All tagged Word
There is a difference between faith, and imagination. Both dwell in our minds, but faith springs from trusting the Word of God, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, whereas imagination is founded on fantasy, and the concoctions of our own mind. Some who say “I am a Christian“ are guilty of folding the two into one way of worshiping as they seek what is easy or pleasing to them in God’s will, while imagining the hardships and suffering to be useless, and not of the Lord.
We read the Bible, and study God’s Word, but is doing so a joy? Reading the Bible can be a daunting task because, depending on the translation, the language can be challenging, the meaning behind certain passages (such as parables and stories) can be difficult to interpret, and quite honestly there are lists, and long genealogies, in the Bible that put many readers off. Let’s be truthful... reading the Bible is not as entertaining as reading “The Arabian Nights”, or “Aesop’s Fables”, but no other book can have such an impact on who we are, thrill us with its revelations, or save our souls. The joy comes when we open our hearts, minds, and souls, to God through His Word.
How often do we pray the Lord’s Prayer? Do we pray it so frequently that we now mouth the words without thinking about each and every one that we are praying, and no longer seek its full meaning with our hearts? Memorization can breed familiarization, and when we become overly familiar with something we tend to lose the intensity of our feeling for it. Favorite scriptures can start out this way; we commit them to memory because we are moved by them, but as the years go by we find ourselves simply reciting them, and no longer visiting their deeper meaning. Do you feel yourself slipping into such familiarity?
Do you trust in the Word of God? Do you believe in it as the rock that you can stand atop forever? From your perch there are you able to see all that He has created, and marvel in amazement at His magnificence, truth, goodness, and love? Do you feel the conviction, dread the wrath, hear the hammer fall on Calvary, and thrill in the grace flowing forth from the risen Christ? This is what the Bible declares to us, and this is our taste of relationship... of God Himself.
Don’t use scripture to build walls for your faith, use it to build a ladder on which you can surmount all obstacles, and reach the crowning glory of salvation and joy. How do you read God’s Holy Word? Do you read it looking at every verse for conviction, a roadblock to a happy life, or as if it were a bit in your mouth? Scripture is for instruction, but that instruction is to bring us love, joy, and into the presence of God; not to be an overbearing misery. How do you chose to approach scripture, and God?
When things get tough regarding your faith how do you go about handling the situation? If challenged or threatened because you are a Christian do you stand by your faith, go to your prayer closet, or run away from it altogether? Not all threats are of bodily violence or death; some are merely the fear of being ostracized, made fun of, or maybe being passed over for promotion at work. Fear of ridicule and failure can be just as effective as bodily harm to the steadfastness of our faith. Are you one of the apostles that ran away, or more like Peter who denied Jesus?
Why do you fret and run about in your faith? Are you fearful of physical death, and don’t understand what lies ahead, or are you actually afraid that you have fallen short of God’s mark and will not experience eternity with Him? As a Christian you should fear neither... you should have confidence in the Lord’s promise of eternity, and know that your faith in Jesus Christ is your pass to dine comfortably, restfully, at God’s table.
What is your name; what are you called? On physical earth you have a sir name, but what is your spiritual name, your name of faith? Are you called Godly, Christian, Catholic, Anglican, Protestant, Orthodox, Pastor, Reverend, Father, Bishop, some other name of faith, or are you simply unknown? Let’s shorten this question... are you called by the name of God, or not? Names can indicate a nationality, a race, a tribe, or a family, but eventually they give an indication as to who your father is. So, who is your spiritual father?
How do we come to understand the Word of God, and His will for us? Is it by our own intellect, and through diligent study that we are able to piece it together like a puzzle? Do we somehow find the hidden key within it that allows everything to fall into place so that we can stand back from it and marvel at our ingenuity? No, we understand with our hearts, and not our minds. Our minds barely scratch the surface, but our hearts use them like a scalpel.
Where do you receive your sustenance? What food do you depend on for most of your nourishment? As humans we are omnivorous which means we eat a variety of food. Some of us like salads and vegetables, some like chicken, beef, or grain, and others prefer a mixture, but as we grow more into our spiritual selves our diet undergoes a change. We see this in the menu of Jesus Himself.