John
1:12 “Yet to all who
did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to
become children of God.”
There
is a common door to "life and life eternal": it is faith. The common term for a
Christian is “Believer”. Scripture teaches that "by grace are you saved
through faith", and that faith (or belief, same word) in the
substitutionary work of Christ on the cross is essential to salvation. But it
is clear that faith does not stop there; it grows as a Christian matures. I
read about some of the characteristics of a “growing faith in God” that I’d
like to share.
One
who has accepted God's gracious offer of forgiveness and salvation, one who, by
faith, has found God trustworthy, comes to trust Him and His promises in other
areas as well. God will faithfully fulfill His promises, and we can have faith
that He will. With faith, the rainy days are just like water on a duck.
The
article points out that the great heroes of faith in the Bible all had one
thing in common. They dared to trust God for great things, even impossible
things, and moved out on that basis. How hard it is for us to think and move beyond
the five senses of ordinary natural and material life to the extraordinary
super-natural and spiritual life.
Then
there is the mature faith which can "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently
for him" in the face of hardship and opposition. At every stage of our
Christian lives, God allows us opportunities to exercise and expand our faith.
Remember, "Without faith it is impossible to please him". Dare to
trust.
In
Christ, Brian
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