Faith and deeds are
inseparable, just as the body without a soul is dead.
Hebrew
11:5-6 (NLT)
It was by faith
that Enoch was taken up to heaven without dying—“suddenly he disappeared
because God took him.” But before he was taken up, he was approved as pleasing
to God. So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith.
How often have we turned this verse
around so that we believe our works become the criteria for determining our
faith? When we have a works based faith for getting into heaven this is the
standard we use to measure ourselves and others. However, I believe this is the
wrong side of the coin for what the Holy Spirit is telling us. Let us consider
the possibility we are not being told what to do, but how to do so that we are engaging
our culture with our living faith, bringing God’s presence into everyday life. When we have a real, viable, living
and tangible relationship with our God we are not trying to prove God exists.
For us, we are demonstrating our intimate relationship with a living God in our
daily routines of life. This means as we let the Holy Spirit lead us, teaching
us about all 3 persons of God, our true self and as we interact with the world around us we are not
being driven by common sense, but leading with a kingdom mindset. As we grow our God consciousness to include more and more areas of our life, submitting more of our heart to the Lordship of Jesus, we begin to walk with a quiet confidence and a calm assurance in spite of what life in the world is throwing at us.
When we really trust God, believing He is for us
and not against us; that He has many good plans for our life, today and for our
future; that we are not being set up to fail. We start to perceive God's goodness is shaping us to become everything we
are created to be in spite of our past. The lies we have believed about us and about God. This includes the damage we have experienced by our own hand and from the world around us. Our baggage that has shaped us as we only knew how to be our own source. We are letting all of that go learning to live as the new creation we are in the reality that we are totally
loved and completely accepted just as we are. It is because of the security we have from knowing we belong and are loved unconditionally that we are discovering who we really are. This happens as we receive the perfect love God has for us. Receiving this godly love we are learning to love God, ourself and others in the same way. We are
recognizing more everyday the values and joys of life that are not just concepts, but can be a part of every day in spite of our circumstances or situation. We are starting to respond to life with God's heart instead of out of our wounds and the vows we have made so that we could limit our future pain from the people we let in. We are becoming reflections of godly love without judgment.
This is how faith and deeds are
inseparable. Our expression of life with God flows into every area of our life,
even the mundane. As people around us watch the Bible in us become alive, a
living word, they may not know what we have or even how to get what we have,
but they do know they want it. This opens the door to our testimony and the
incredible Good News that God is real, wants to know each of us
personally and actually participate in our life. Today’s Reflection What is the Holy Spirit saying to
me…?
How
does today’s message apply to my life?…my beliefs? |
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CategoriesA thought to consider.Devotional - Week 1 Devotional - Week 2 Devotional - Week 3 Devotional - Week 4 Devotional - Week 5 Devotional - Week 6 Devotional - Week 7 Devotional - Week 8 Kairos Daily Devotional Living Free The Kairos Weekend Report Who am I now as a new creation? Who am I now/ Day 16-20 Who am I now? Day 11-15 Who am I now? Day 21-25 Who am I now? Day 26-30 Who am I now? Day 6-10
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