" WHERE'S YOUR FAITH ? "

It's wonderful for me to share with you each week. This week once again I have been lead to the subject of " Faith." Now our faith shouldn't be based on personal comfort. Many people think that believing in God protects them from trouble, so when calamity comes, they question God's goodness and justice. But the message of Job is that you should not give up on God because he allows you to have bad experiences. Faith in God does not guarantee personal prosperity and lack of faith does not guarantee troubles in this life. If this were so, people would believe in God simply to get rich. Now our God is certainly capable of rescuing us from suffering to come for reasons we cannot understand. It is satan's strategy to get us to doubt God at exactly this moment. Here Job shows a perspective broader than seeking his own personal comfort. If we always know why we were suffering, our faith would have no room to grow. Have you ever felt that God abandoned you? Do you ever feel stagnant in your faith, as though you are just going through the motions? Now another question: has sin ever driven a wedge between you and God, making him distant. David felt this way he had sinned with Bathsheba and had just been confronted by Nathan the Prophet. In his prayer he cried, " RESTORE TO ME THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION." God wants us to be close to him and to experience his full and complete life. But sin that remains unconfessed makes such intimacy impossible. Confess your sin to God. You may still have to face some earthly consequences, as David did, but God will give back the joy of your relationship with him. LAST POINT: Our faith affects others, do you remember reading the accounting of when Jesus healed the paralytic man? Please read (Luke 5:18-20) now consider this it wasn't the paralytics faith but his friends. jesus responded to their faith and healed the man. For better or worse, our Faith affects others. We cannot make another person a Christian, but we can do much through our words, actions, and love to give him or her a chance to respond. Look for opportunities to bring your friends to the Living Christ. Until Next Time... Jim,