Tag Archive | faith

Refined As Gold

Sep26

“But He knows the way I take;
When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
11 “My foot has held fast to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
12 “I have not departed from the command of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food. — Job 23:10-12

How about you? Can you say that?

so that the proof of your faith, being  more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; — 1 Peter 1:7

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Ascend And Stand

Aug11

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? — Psalm 24:3

My initial response to this is, “not me”. I am but a filthy rag, even on a good day compared to the Lord God Almighty and His pure holiness. I have never, that I can recall, imagined myself standing before God. I am always on my knees in humble adoration if not lying flat on my face before Him.

But God. . .

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God  prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. — Ephesians 2:4-10

But now in Christ Jesus you who  formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. — Ephesians 2:13 

Only through Jesus Christ and Him alone may I ascend into the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place. How about you? Are you ready to accept God’s grace through Jesus Christ so you can ascend and stand in confidence before the Creator of you?

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Effective Faith

May2

and I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake. — Philemon 1:6

How is your walk of faith? Are you growing so as to be effective for the sake of Christ? Prayer is fellowship with God which is necessary to see things from God’s perspective, humble us, and to surrender our lives for His purpose.

Fellowship of faith is fellowship with other believers so as to encourage, be encouraged and to sharpen and be sharpened. Along with that is accountability.

Fellowship of faith is filling our mind and hearts with the Word of God. It teaches us His way and allows us to serve in a manner worthy of our Lord by the Holy Spirit’s guidance and bringing to remembrance what we have studied.

Again, how is your faith? “I pray that the fellowship of your faith may become effective through the knowledge of every good thing which is in you for Christ’s sake”.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Transparent So Others Hear

Apr29

because I hear of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints; — Philemon 1:5

Are others aware of your faith in the Lord Jesus? Do others see your love for the saints (believers, followers of Christ)? I’m speaking of places outside the walls of the church. Is God’s love and your faith transparent? The world needs you to be.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Grace Given

Mar2

But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. — Ephesians 4:7

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. — Romans 12:3

So what are you doing with the grace and faith you have been given?

Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. — 1 Peter 4:11

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Be Transformed

Feb28

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the  renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. — Romans 12:2

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. — Colossians 3:2

if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. — Ephesians 4:21-24

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others,   snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. — Jude 1:20-23

How is your transformation coming? Does God have your attention? Are you setting your mind on the things above? Are you being taught the truth, Jesus Christ, by reading your Bible, taking part in a study group, listening to the Word of God preached? Are you building up your faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, and keeping yourself in the love of God? Are you anxiously awaiting Jesus’ return and telling others of His mercy and grace?

How are you renewing your mind for the purpose of God — knowing and fulfilling His will?

Again. Does God have your attention?

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

 

 

 

God’s Love

Feb9

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. — Romans 5:8-11

Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. — Hebrews 7:25

Justified (to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit) by Jesus’ shed blood.

Saved from the wrath of God through Jesus. No one but Jesus.

Reconciled (to reconsecrate, to restore) by Jesus’ death.

Saved by Jesus’ resurrection.

Draw near to the One who made salvation, reconciliation and justification possible. He is the only way!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

For The Sake Of All

Feb8

Now not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. — Romans 4:23-25

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. — Romans 5:1-2

Not only for Abraham only but for all who believe in God. The God who raised Jesus from the dead. The Jesus who sacrificed His life for all that all may have peace, reconciliation with the Creator of all. By Jesus’ sacrifice, we are justified by simply believing (faith).

Are you standing in His grace, exulting in hope of the glory of God? If yes, then go praise and exalt our God for the things He has done for us through Jesus His Son. Let the world know He is your Lord.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Simply Believe?

Feb5

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, And whose sins have been covered.

“Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” — Romans 4:1-8

Believe. Really? That’s all I have to do?

If it were easy to simply believe wouldn’t more people be doing it? It’s a choice that does not come easy. Why?

Because the only part we play in it is “believe”. Well that is too easy and there has to be more. . .

 Let me relay a little story. In the early 1980s, while working at a hospital, I had the privilege of learning the computer system that was being installed in the hospital. In return for learning I was to instruct all the new nurses that were assigned to the floor that I worked on. At that time computers were pretty archaic. There were basically two keys that you would use and all you had to do was remember the functionality of those two keys. Simple, right?

Out of all the nurses I trained over the next 10 years, I would have to say that over 90% heard these words from my mouth, “You’re making it harder than it is”. They were over thinking it because it “should be harder than it looks”.

Are you making the decision to believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God — who died on a cross, bearing your sin, and 3 days later arose from the grave — more complicated than it has to be?

Your salvation and eternal life with God does not depend on anything you “do”. It depends on what God has already done and on whether you believe.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Proclaiming Christ

Jan23

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; 12 that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. — Romans 1:8-12

Do you get excited about God’s work? Do you get excited watching Christians grow in their faith? Do you desire to help and encourage other believers in their walk with Christ? Do you get encouraged to walk the straight and narrow by the testimony of the saints? Paul not only wanted to feed others but longed to be fed also.

We need more testimony of God’s movement in the lives of His saints. How is God moving in your life right now? If you can’t see, ask Him to reveal it to you and then share it! If you can see it, who can you encourage today by sharing it?

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon