Faith

---

Many people have questions about their faith and whether they really measure up to what God wants them to be. There are also many people who just don't know where they are going when they die. I've found the answer or rather it found me in John 15:6 which states that "Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me." This statement also single handedly says that all other religions do not lead to the God in Heaven. With that in mind I encourage you to read on.

I will start with Jesus, who is the base and the creator of my faith. To put first things first, you must believe that he is God and that he came to earth and sacrificed himself for our sin. In Hebrews 10 Jesus is the everlasting and final offering to God and that is why we are no longer required to offer sacrifices for our sins. This is the New Covenant talked about in Hebrews 8: 7-12. To be born again you must believe this and Jesus requires you to have a personal relationship with Him. Your realationship with Jesus is like other relationships, you must talk to him and in return, listen and obey him. John says in 1John 2:4 that if you say " I know him" and does not do what he commands is a liar, and the turth is not in him.

Now I must first say that you don't get to heaven by works, I mean by what you do. Romans 3:10-12 says that no one is righteous, but by our faith, God sees us fit for His kingdom. Read Romans 3:21-31 and Romans 9:1-8, which gives a clear picture of what kind of faith God wants us to have. Now in James 2:14-26, James declares that faith with out works is dead, although what we do, doesn't get us into heaven, what we do is evidence that we are saved. These evidences are called "Fruits of the Spirit". In Galatians 5:22-25, Paul was so good as to give a nice neat list of the fruits of the spirit which are Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self- Control. Notice that Love is first on the list. Love, is all the others on the list combined, like a definition of what the Christian love is, and how it will be displayed from you if you are truly saved. The Fruits take time to develop in a Christian, and there are lessons to learn that will be taught to you by the Holy Spirit, which is a gift from God that was promised to us in John 15:16-17. As soon as we have faith that Jesus Christ is our savior, we receive the Holy Spirit (To learn more about the Holy Spirit read Acts 1).

Now there are a few of the fruits which people tend to get confused about. The first one is Joy, it is not the same as happiness. Happiness is affected by your situation. For example as a child, when you received a new toy, you experienced a feeling of happiness, but what if a bully snatched that toy away, you would no longer feel happy. Joy is something different and is not affected by the physical realm. It is something inside you and is given by God so no matter what happens, it can not be taken away. It is the Joy of knowing God and is caused by the peace which is second on my list. Peace is like joy, both are not affected by the physical realm. The peace Paul talks about is a Spiritual Peace, a peace between You and God. Before you were saved you were an enemy of God, fighting Him, just like Paul was until the day Jesus entered his life. As it says in James 4:4 Anyone who is a friend of the world shows hatred toward God and is an enemy of God. And in 1 John 2: 15 John states "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." This passage should not be over looked or scanned. Think about things you might have a habit of accepting, like dirty language. They are more then just words and it is clear that it's not something for you to do or accept from other people you hang around. In Colossians 3:8 and Ephesians 5:4 it states the things you should sustain from, one of these is flithy language which includes Dirty Jokes!

Lastly, I urge all to read your Bibles everyday, because how can you learn if you don't read. Also the Bible is the building block of your relationship with God. 2Timothy 3:16 says that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. It is one of the primary communications between Man and God equal to prayer which plays a major role in having that relationship between you and Jesus.

If you have questions, you must ask them. But whom are you to ask if you do not know any mature Christians? Jesus of course! and secondly you could find a church to grow in , because Christian fellowship is accentual to growing in Christ along with prayer and reading His word. In Hebrews 10:25 Christians are asked to continue meeting with eachother more and more. And last but not least there is obedience, which is the way of not only showing that you are listening to what Jesus is telling you but it is the greatest way of showing Jesus you love Him. Jesus declares in John 14: 15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE