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TRUSTWORTHY
Do you trust God? (1) |
The Bible tells us to have faith: (Hebrews 11:6 NIV) 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. And we all do have some faith, or we would not have ever accepted salvation in the first place.
What is faith? What does it mean to trust God? These are questions we are going to look at. As I said above, we all had to have faith to accept the free gift of eternal life that God offers those who believe in Jesus Christ.
We know that God loves us. He says so many places in His word, plus He would not have sent Jesus to die for our sins if He did not love us.
Have you ever watched a child who is afraid of water jump off the side of the pool into the arms of a loving parent? What causes that child to jump? It is trust in the parent, but why does the child trust the parent? Could it be because the parent has shown through love that they will not let anything bad happen to the child?
There is a place, not made for humans, but prepared for Satan and his followers called the lake of fire. God does not want any person to go there, yet because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve and our continued rebellion since then, mankind is sentenced to die (eternally) in the lake of fire along with Satan and his followers.
There is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Yet God loves us enough to send a Redeemer to save us from the just and well deserved punishment for our sins. So shouldn't we also feel as that child does that our Father has proven His love and faithfulness to us? I can remember taking my daughter to the doctor when she was very small. She would ask as we drove to the hospital; "Will I have to get a shot?" I would not lie to her, I would always tell her that I hoped not but that it was possible if the doctor thought that was best. She did not trust the doctor, but she trusted me. She still did not want the shot but she trusted me enough to believe that I was not going to let anyone do anything to her that was not in her best interest, even though that might still mean a little pain and discomfort in the short term.
Do we trust God in this same way? Should we? Maybe this passage will help you answer that question: (Mark 10:13- 15 NIV) People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. {14} When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. {15} I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Maybe we should have that child-like faith in our Heavenly Father. Now I am not talking about a blind, leave-your-brain-at-the-door type of trust or faith. I am often ridiculed for being a sheep blindly following something that I don't even understand. My answer to that is that God does not want us to check our brains at the door. He has given us plenty of proof, not only of His existence but also of the truth of His Word. We have to look for ourselves, but if we do He will open our eyes and let us see clearly. What I am talking about is trust that comes from knowing God. If we truly know Him, then we will see His character and know that He loves us and that His word is true. This is not blind faith it is faith based on proof that is all around us.
Okay, I am preaching to the choir, right? Well maybe not, maybe you think you have faith and trust in God, but are you showing by your life that you do? Let's take a look at a kind of difficult passage: (James 2:14 NIV) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? This is a difficult passage because it makes us uncomfortable. It shows that God wants us to have spiritual fruit in our lives. If we claim that we have faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior but our lives show no spiritual fruit (deeds) which confirms that faith, then maybe we are just fooling ourselves about our faith.
This is tough teaching, but it needs to be preached. I don't believe you can accept Christ as Lord and Savior of your life and still live the same way for the next 10 years, or 5 years or even 1 year. For that matter for even months. You are either growing or you are falling away. I have often heard someone described as a Christian who just never grew in the Lord. If they never grew how do you know they are a Christian?
Just because they said they understand and believe who Jesus is and have asked Him into their hearts? Is that enough? It is enough if it truly happened but without the outward evidence of that happening you should wonder.
A dead tree does not grow, a live tree does not remain the same. If you cut a tree down and look at its rings you will not find a tree that is a hundred years old with only 2 or 3 rings! So why do we think a Christian can go for years without producing any growth rings? I think no rings means no growth, and no growth means death...
Stand back, I am not done yet. I think growth means a faith that is also growing stronger. If you don't trust God more today then you did the day you accepted Christ as your Savior then maybe you better check your roots to see if you are still alive!! (John 15:5-6 NIV) "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. {6} If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Continued in the next issue.
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