The Quality of our Faith
Suggested Scripture Reading:
1. Genesis 12
Our faith as Christians speak of the Almighty God. Faith cannot be simply just equivalent to just a mere believe in God. The Bible tells us that it is not enough to just believe in God. James 2:19 says that "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder."
In the midst of the temptations that we encounter in today's world, the quality of our faith is measured by our faithfulness to God. The refusal to obey God's direction in our lives will eventually lead to a spiritual death.
Genesis 12:1-5 says that
1. Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will she thee:
2. And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
4. So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram (was) seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran.
5. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came
The Quality of our faith is measured by our trust in God. At age 75 which was considered middle-age then, God told Abram to move from Haran to Canaan and he will be blessed with a great nation. Despite the uncertainties and worries that shrouded above him, Abram obeyed God's direction in his life. To put it in a practical sense, trusting in God is the only thing in the world with 0% risk.
From Genesis 12:6-8 we see that the quality of our faith is sustained by our communion with God. Prayer and communion with God maintains our faith. Otherwise, our faith is diluted.
From Genesis 13:10-13 we see that the quality of our faith is sustained by our steadfastness in God. If your church is your calling then be steadfast to your church.
From Genesis 14:18-23 we see that the quality of our faith is affected by our convictions. It is not enough to pay homage to righteousness on Sunday and for the rest of the week, our convictions are swallowed up by our compromises. To put it simply, it is not sufficient to praise and worship God on Sundays and ask for God's forgiveness while you sin and turn a blind eye to it from Mondays to Saturdays because you know that there will always be a Sunday for you to turn to God and ask for his forgiveness. Going by this train of thought, wouldn't we have cheapened the sanctity of God's forgiveness for our sins? Wouldn't we have degraded and demeaned the sacrifice from God to let his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins?
The quality of our faith is strengthen by the testing of our faith.
In Hebrews 11:11-12 it speaks of the impossible that God has done for Abram. It is the test of famine and patience. Often times, we expect God to do his wonders instantaneously without ever taking a step back to consider the fact that everything that God will bless us will come in good time and in His time.
In Hebrews 11:17-19, we see the test of sacrifice and obedience. While obedience is considered to be of more importance than sacrifice, but we must admit that sometimes in order to be obedient, we need to make some sacrifices.
In Hebrews 11:8-10 we see that the quality of our faith is founded on the promise of the eternal city. It is because of this promise that we have faith and we hence obey God's commands.
Hebrews 11:1 says that " Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" Without faith, we will never please God. In order to have righteousness, we need acceptance from God. With righteousness, will we then have faith in God.
The call from God may necessarily not be to serve a full-time ministry. It could actually be going into a field where God has plans for you.
I often wonder what are God's plans for me. I have probed and questioned. Yet, God always says in good time it will come. Just have faith in me and trust in me.
This message spoke dearly to me.
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I spent my afternoon getting my UCAS application form in order. I just hope that my two referees will do me this big favour.
Today's Sunday times highlighted on debate coaching. It sort of gave me some flashbacks of when I was a debate coach for PHS's debate team when I was in Year 1 at NJC. The difference was that I was not paid. Not even market rate! It was sort of like a senior helping his fellow juniors and trying his best to take this team to reach a new level and enter a different ball game. At the very least, the team I coached won the 'C' Divison Julia Gabriel Debating Championship. Sometimes I wonder, what would I be if I have continued the debating path? Well...it is no use probing about what's past.
going back to camp with my turtle bag...till later
