" JESUS RESPECTS FAITH "

Our relationship with God begins with faith, which helps us realize that we are transferred from our pastby the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Hope growsas we learn all that God has in mind for us; it givesus the promise of the future. And God's love fills ourlives and gives us the ability to reach out to others.This past week I was sharing with a dear brother thatwe should always ask God for an understanding of HisWord. Faith comes alive when we apply scripture to ourdaily lives. You know that we need understanding so wecan discern,and we need the desire to apply scripturewhere we need help. The Word of God is like life'sremedy, it goes to work only when applied to the affected areas. The Bible is our road map in navigatingthrough this life. The Word of God is applicable todayas it was relevant 4000 years ago.

Having an attitude of expectation is how we should beliving our every day life. Nothing regarding the goodLord Jesus Christ should ever surprise us. I'm remindedthat Jesus' inner circle became thoroughly terrified when seeing Jesus walking to them on the sea. I've alwayswondered why they were so surprised especially after allthat they have seen Jesus do. Why would this miracle frighten them to this magnitude? OK, they didn't expectJesus to come, and they weren't prepared for his help.Faith is a mind-set that expects God to act. When we acton this expectation, we can overcome our fears.

JESUS TURNED AND SAID TO PETER, " GET BEHIND ME, SATAN! YOU AREA STUMBLING BLOCK TO ME; YOU DO NOT HAVE IN MIND THE THINGSOF GOD, BUT THE THINGS OF MEN " (Matt. 16:23).

Wow, I don't ever wish to be a stumbling block for anyone. Maybe it's time that we started doing faith exercises, in other wordsliving our lives in a way that it stretches our faith. Inliving out our faith, we may find that rejection, disappointment,or hard work has brought us to the point ofdespondency. But we are still needed. God has important workfor us as well.

Those of you who know me, realize that I think much of Shadrach,Meshach,and Abed-nego. Now, these young men were being pressured to deny God, but they chose to be faithfulto him no matter what happened! They understood that Godhad the power to deliver them, but they were determined tobe faithful regardless of the consequences. We should befaithful in serving the Father whether he intervenes on ourbehalf or not. Our eternal reward is worth any suffering wemay have to endure first. Our faith and the knowledge of ourGod should overshadow any fear that we may have. Faith in God keeps us from losing hope and helps us resist fear. We should be comforted and optimistic because we know that God is greater than anything our enemies can bring against us. To be productive for God, we must obey his teachings, resist temptation, actively serve and help others, and share our faith. How productive are you for God?

Until Next Time...
Jim,