March 10th, 2023
by Steve Marshall
by Steve Marshall
January 17, 2020
Hey Church Family:
I recently had the incredible opportunity to go on a trip across Italy. In order for me to get to my destination I had to travel on the Trenitalia, the high speed Italian train service. It was an awesome ride! The only way for me to get on the train and enjoy Italy was to have a ticket that was acquired at the ticket booth by paying some Euros. The conductor checks your ticket and then gives you a friendly, “Ciao!” if you have the correct ticket. You must have the ticket or there would not be full acceptance of you as a passenger on the train. You would be left at the station.
As God’s children we are given a ticket of full acceptance. What is our ticket to full acceptance, forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation? Faith through grace! It is the most important ticket. The free gift of faith is our ticket to full acceptance, infinite goodness, and joyful embrace from our loving heavenly Father. We do not purchase this God-pleasing faith through works but instead we are recipients of this eternal ticket. It is a free gift that we cannot work to acquire; yet it gives us an adoption into the eternal family of God without any condemnation, while we stand in perpetual righteousness in Jesus Christ. Faith is our access to the endless promises of God. Faith is the most important ticket we could ever be given and that faith affects all of life, giving birth to works of obedience and endurance.
But of course we live in a world that has a tendency to wear down our faith. Do you ever find yourself struggling with faith? Do you ever find yourself not knowing what to believe? Do you find yourself not knowing who to believe? Is your faith weakened by the everyday struggles of life and on the verge of failing? What do you do when you find yourself in these times of spiritual discouragement and depression?
Remember’s Paul’s words in Romans 10:17, So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. To strengthen the faith that you have been given by God as a gift for your salvation you are called by Him to strive to see more of Christ, to hear more of Christ, to delight in more of Christ. You are called to study Christ, meditate on Christ, know Christ. This is how our faith remains strengthened each day for the daily struggles, daily weaknesses, daily hardships, daily insults, and daily calamities that come against us. Strengthening our faith is the most important work that we can be about on any given day so that our faith will endure. Faith and the Word of God cannot be separated. They are like wonder-twin-powers that activate each other with eternal power. Take away the Word of God and no faith will remain. God uses His Word, the Scriptures, to reveal Himself to us. And that revelation brings great power to our faith. Do you desire to strengthen your faith?
Read, study, wrestle with, meditate, memorize the Word of God for your faith to receive great power! Let the Creator of this universe, who empowers all of life, bring the same power to your faith as you read the Word fo Christ. We cannot expect to have a powerful faith without that daily work of the Word of Christ powerfully working in us.
We will be picking up this Sunday where we left off in Luke 7, discussing What is Faith?
I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday. – Steve
Romans 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…
PS: Please also come prepared for the monthly Potluck this Sunday after worship.
I recently had the incredible opportunity to go on a trip across Italy. In order for me to get to my destination I had to travel on the Trenitalia, the high speed Italian train service. It was an awesome ride! The only way for me to get on the train and enjoy Italy was to have a ticket that was acquired at the ticket booth by paying some Euros. The conductor checks your ticket and then gives you a friendly, “Ciao!” if you have the correct ticket. You must have the ticket or there would not be full acceptance of you as a passenger on the train. You would be left at the station.
As God’s children we are given a ticket of full acceptance. What is our ticket to full acceptance, forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness, and salvation? Faith through grace! It is the most important ticket. The free gift of faith is our ticket to full acceptance, infinite goodness, and joyful embrace from our loving heavenly Father. We do not purchase this God-pleasing faith through works but instead we are recipients of this eternal ticket. It is a free gift that we cannot work to acquire; yet it gives us an adoption into the eternal family of God without any condemnation, while we stand in perpetual righteousness in Jesus Christ. Faith is our access to the endless promises of God. Faith is the most important ticket we could ever be given and that faith affects all of life, giving birth to works of obedience and endurance.
But of course we live in a world that has a tendency to wear down our faith. Do you ever find yourself struggling with faith? Do you ever find yourself not knowing what to believe? Do you find yourself not knowing who to believe? Is your faith weakened by the everyday struggles of life and on the verge of failing? What do you do when you find yourself in these times of spiritual discouragement and depression?
Remember’s Paul’s words in Romans 10:17, So faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ. To strengthen the faith that you have been given by God as a gift for your salvation you are called by Him to strive to see more of Christ, to hear more of Christ, to delight in more of Christ. You are called to study Christ, meditate on Christ, know Christ. This is how our faith remains strengthened each day for the daily struggles, daily weaknesses, daily hardships, daily insults, and daily calamities that come against us. Strengthening our faith is the most important work that we can be about on any given day so that our faith will endure. Faith and the Word of God cannot be separated. They are like wonder-twin-powers that activate each other with eternal power. Take away the Word of God and no faith will remain. God uses His Word, the Scriptures, to reveal Himself to us. And that revelation brings great power to our faith. Do you desire to strengthen your faith?
Read, study, wrestle with, meditate, memorize the Word of God for your faith to receive great power! Let the Creator of this universe, who empowers all of life, bring the same power to your faith as you read the Word fo Christ. We cannot expect to have a powerful faith without that daily work of the Word of Christ powerfully working in us.
We will be picking up this Sunday where we left off in Luke 7, discussing What is Faith?
I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday. – Steve
Romans 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…
PS: Please also come prepared for the monthly Potluck this Sunday after worship.
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