The sermon at church last night was titled, "The Power of Faithfulness". The guest pastor, Luke Walters, talked about how faithfulness is born out of the power of the resurrection of Jesus. I jotted down scripture references just as quickly as I could as he blew through the message. I wanted to go back and read them when I had more time.
I came home and got the kids tucked in for the night and began my daily reading in Purpose Driven Life and Believing God. As I read chapter 3 in PDL, the one thing that stood out to me was the reference to 1 John 4:16b: "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him." I've come to realize in the last couple of days that to know God's purpose for me, I must first know God. On the first day of this journey Ephesians 5:2 stood out: "...live a life of love..." On Day 2, PDL referenced 1 John 4:8: "God is love." And now I'm reading this again. Ok...I usually have to hear things a time or two before they stick. I think this is definitely starting to stick! Who is God? God is love. I must live in love to live in God and have Him live in me!
I moved on to Beth Moore...chapter 2 was all about faith/belief. Coincidence? I don't think so! Hebrews 11:6 says, "...without faith it is impossible to please God." Believing God....faith...what's the difference?, I wondered. I liked that Beth broke this down. Pistis is a Greek word that means assurance, belief, believe, faith, and fidelity. All are translated from some form of this word with only a few exceptions. Good...so now I know that they basically mean the same thing.
Then she took it a step further and threw in Ephesians 1:13: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit." She also referenced Ephesians 1:18-20 again, really focusing on the part that says, "in order that you may know...his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead." Wow! That's just what Luke had talked about in his sermon earlier in the evening. Seeing the verse in print just brought it all together for me. Beth writes:
I came home and got the kids tucked in for the night and began my daily reading in Purpose Driven Life and Believing God. As I read chapter 3 in PDL, the one thing that stood out to me was the reference to 1 John 4:16b: "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him." I've come to realize in the last couple of days that to know God's purpose for me, I must first know God. On the first day of this journey Ephesians 5:2 stood out: "...live a life of love..." On Day 2, PDL referenced 1 John 4:8: "God is love." And now I'm reading this again. Ok...I usually have to hear things a time or two before they stick. I think this is definitely starting to stick! Who is God? God is love. I must live in love to live in God and have Him live in me!
I moved on to Beth Moore...chapter 2 was all about faith/belief. Coincidence? I don't think so! Hebrews 11:6 says, "...without faith it is impossible to please God." Believing God....faith...what's the difference?, I wondered. I liked that Beth broke this down. Pistis is a Greek word that means assurance, belief, believe, faith, and fidelity. All are translated from some form of this word with only a few exceptions. Good...so now I know that they basically mean the same thing.
Then she took it a step further and threw in Ephesians 1:13: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit." She also referenced Ephesians 1:18-20 again, really focusing on the part that says, "in order that you may know...his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead." Wow! That's just what Luke had talked about in his sermon earlier in the evening. Seeing the verse in print just brought it all together for me. Beth writes:
Nothing on earth compares to the strength God is willing to interject into lives caught in the act of believing. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul likens it to the stunning power God exerted when He raised His Son from the dead!...Can you think of any need you might have that would require more strength than God exercised to raise the dead?
"Having believed" is the past tense view of faithfulness (the point of salvation for us), whereas "believing" is the present active participle of faithfulness. This means presently, actively, continually believing in God. What a difference it is between accepting Christ as my personal Savior, and living a life of continual faithfulness for Him! A faithful life will mean the pleasure of God and a power beyond compare.
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