Grace and Faith

The Christian has been afforded the privilege of tapping into heavens bank. Yes bank! Did you know heaven has a bank? The storeroom of Grace is filled with an unlimited supply of what we need to get through each day. There is no need for the pensioners’ mentality, we needn’t save for tomorrow, and the supply will never run dry, so long as we approach it with boldness, in faith and driven by heaps of hope. This is a hard lesson to learn seeing that most of us have been conditioned to store up reserves for our pensions. We have been conditioned to take care of tomorrow, which is the opposite of faith. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof”, and we know who taught us that truth. True Christianity must bring about a change in our thinking. Thank God for the instant shift, however once we move through that phase it’s all about conditioning and so our beloved brother Paul appeals to us; “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) 

  

It’s frightening how carnally minded we are, but who can blame us? It’s the way of the world. And yet we are at fault, its no point passing the blame, we need to get on with it. True faith demands that we play by a different set of rules; it depends on God’s promises and not our ability. Faith is distributed amongst individuals within the body of Christ (the Church) according To the will of God. He gives us a measure of faith, it’s a gift from God. We can’t fabricate something we haven’t been given, that’s what the pretender does. But once we receive our spiritual gifts it's ours to use at will. We now play our part, like a cog in a wheel, we need to BELIEVE! Believe God at His Word and I am persuaded that it will be well with our souls. Once God give us a gift we take ownership and I think this is where the lines get muddled. It’s up to the individual to believe and then once we commit we need to let go and let God. It the opposite extreme of independence. “But without faith it is impossible to please God.” Faith takes us far deeper than looking to have our carnal needs taken care of, that is but a microscopic part of it. A faith that believes God when it seems impossible, is the realm we must all shoot for. We must learn from our father Abraham. This can only truly have its origin in the spiritual world. An unseen dimension that is as real as the seen, and it is guided by the WORD OF GOD. Faith defies carnal logic. It’s Christ in us the hope of Glory that must dictate. Our attitude needs to switch, the trial of life is a daily occurrences and we are to tackle each day as it happens, a hundred percent committed to the finished work of Calvary. It’s the realisation of who we are and what power we wield in HIM that we need to objectify. Do we believe that our Heavenly Father is in control? Then just maybe it’s time to start living as if we truly believe it. But do we believe it when it comes to our lives, or do we hedge our bets just in case? That is the opposite of faith which believes in the unseen, and the hope that drives our faith is also unseen but must be as real as the rising of the sun if we are to embrace the gifts of God. Triggering them has a totally different set of rules and its testing’s that figures us out, it adds so much to our makeups in Christ, praise God for His wisdom. Faith, hope and love is all beautifully intertwined, I do not see how they are to be separated if we are to truly please our heavenly Father.

What was the very first instruction given to the disciples, prior to them being sent out to share the gospel? This in itself speaks volumes if only we would see the importance of the instruction; “He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts.” Why? It’s not as if bread would fall from the sky to feed them, but rather people along the way would come to their aid without any coaxing on their behalf. The evidence of faith unfolding before their very eyes. God’s brilliance is wonderful to behold even if like Moses we only get glimpses of his “back”. Our sister Faith guides us through life presenting us with opportunities to depend on our God.

Signing off

Tyrone