Do You Have Faith?

 We had a one night mission last night. The speaker spoke of faith and what it means to have faith.

Do we have faith?

Most people when asked if they have faith will start spouting off all of the activities and programs they are involved in for God. I often fall into the same category. There are many out there who do a great many things for God. But often their faith is lacking. And maybe not lacking really but certainly put on the shelf for a while. We get caught up in doing and forget about being.

Faith must come from in intimate relationship with God. This relationship takes time. Not time doing for God but rather time being with God. All relationships take time and effort. 

Why do we think that our relationship with God would be any different?

Faith comes from absolutely trusting that everything that Jesus said and did is true. It is a trust that goes beyond the academic to the heart. 

As we knelt in adoration last night, I had a vision of Jesus there in our church with all of the many people sitting around. There were a lot of people there but in my vision, Jesus kept looking over at me from across the room and smiling. That smile that says I notice you and I love you. I can't wait to come over to you. 

I knew that he wanted to be close to me, an unworthy sinner. But that is what Jesus does, isn't it.

Jesus wants to be close to you also. Open the door and let him in.

Get Holy or Die Tryin'

A good friend of mine, on a recent trip, saw a tie that had the words on it, "Get Holy or Die Tryin'". This was surrounded by the names of all the martyr's who had died for the faith.

He said he saw the tie and thought of me. While I appreciate it and think the tie is very cool, does he think I am destined to become a martyr? I haven't had a chance to ask him that question yet.

Maybe this is a questioned I should be asking Jesus, instead. Maybe this is a question I should be asking myself.

This tie has given me cause to reflect on all the martyrs throughout the ages and to contemplate on what it means to be a martyr.

What does it mean to die for one's faith?

Does martyrdom necessarily mean physical death?

Am I willing to die for my faith?

Am I willing to be different, to do the things that are counter-culture?

• Living within my means
• Having more than 2.3 children
• Homeschooling
• Affirming a culture of life
• Say no to material 'rights'
• Not working on Sundays to keep the sabbath

We can all make our own list of what it means to be counter-culture. Will we be thought of as weird and out of touch with reality? Sure, but it is only a temporal thing, a tiny blip in our eternal life. We are setting the foundation for our eternal life. Let's be willing to do the things now, that may cause us to die to self. To let the old self die away and to be transformed into the new person in Christ. We are crucified with Christ. We die to our old sinful selves and are made anew.

It's Summer and it is HOT!

This summer has been hot and quite eventful. 

1. First grandchild was born, a boy
2. 3rd daughter graduated from high school
3. 3rd daughter already away for summer school(scholarship)
4. Will have 2 in college again in the fall.
5. Wife decided it was time to leave her job
6. Decided to start home schooling
7. Car got broken into
8. Waiting to see what will come of application to diaconate
9. started running(I have lost 26 lbs so far and run over 280 km)

As you can see there have been a lot of life changes this summer. Any of them singly are pretty easy to handle. Together they have been a bit overwhelming. Except for the car getting broken into, these are all pretty exciting things. 

Why is it that most things that are exciting are also full of uncertainty and anxiety? Is this what makes them exciting? 

Most of my anxiety comes from the change in our financial situation. Not really sure why this worries me. God, has always taken care of me. Every single time. I am reminded of the wedding feast at Cana. Jesus was asked to help with a little wine. But no, not just a little would he make, but he made a lot of really good wine. God will not be outdone in his generosity.

During these times in my life, when I feel anxious, I need to stop, look back and recall all of the times God has showered his grace upon me. Not just a little sprinkle but a heavenly downpour.

The Samaritan and Me

I am quite the skeptic. I know. Hard to believe, right? 

Well, this last Thursday I was out walking in the Target parking lot. A bit earlier than I normally go out but it has been hot. As I am walking, I notice a man walking toward me. Like, literally, toward me. My first thought is, oh great a beggar this early in the morning.

But I had been praying and so I did not run away. I was like, "Really, God, a test this early in the morning?". And, yes, I was right it was someone asking for money. I listened to his story using my full powers of skepticism. The story seemed at lest in the realm of possibility. Now, I generally don't carry cash but this day I had a couple of dollars and I felt the urge(Holy Spirit) move me to let it go and give the money to the man. As I turned to walk away, I got the Holy Spirit tug again. I turned the the man and asked if I could pray with him before he left. We prayed together and off he went.

Suddenly, I realized that it didn't matter whether or not the man's story was true. What really mattered was the condition of my heart. Jesus did not qualify people before he helped them and neither should I. Christ's love is not conditional and mine should not be either.

The gospel reading this past Sunday was that of the Good Samaritan. He did not ask the victim if he had done something to deserve it. He was just moved and had pity on the person. I listened to this reading and smiled as I recalled the events of a couple days earlier. Am I a good Samaritan? Don't know about that I am but I am working on it.