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Moving a Grain of Sand

    This journey into faith starts with enough faith to move a grain of sand, because we need to start off small. Just as our Spiritual walk starts with hearing and reading God's word, before we ever take that first step of faith. God understands that there is a process to growing in faith. Our faith in Him, like the mustard seed, starts off as a small thing, before we can move mountains, we need to first be able to move a grain of sand.
    One of my favorite movies, illustrates this. "Karate Kid" has an instructor called Mr. Miagi, who teaches karate in a most unusual way. Much like God, Mr. Miagi, starts off the teaching karate with simple everyday chores and the student never realizes that the karate lessons have already started. The lessons are learned by following simple instructions. Washing and waxing a car, painting a fence, painting siding all become a lesson in another karate discipline. The student learns important lessons, by simply following directions.
    In much the same way, our Heavenly Father teaches us life lessons, without us realizing that we are learning. Every trial, every testing, regardless of whether we fail or succeed is an important life lesson, preparing us for whatever God has in store for us, as His servants. Our faith in Him grows with every grain of sand we move through faith. we grow from moving sand, to pebbles, to rocks, to boulders, to where soon we are moving hills and mountains. As our faith grows and matures, we become powerful weapons in God's arsenal against Satan and his demon army.
    As we progress in growing our faith, it is important that we teach others, lessons that we have learned. One of our first lessons was taught by Jesus to His disciples in a prayer. After Jesus praised His Father and gave God all glory and honor, Jesus taught His disciples to ask God for the simplest of sustenance, bread. Jesus realized that our growth starts with simple faith.
    Billie Sunday, Billie Graham, started their ministries, the same way all of us start. Becoming a Christian and sharing our new life with one other person. God's greatest outreach is still one person at a time. God created compound interest long before a mathematician, one person teaching another, those two teaching two others, and so on. The idea is to help others grow their faith, as you grow yours.
    Just as we are told to love each other, as much as we love ourselves. We can only help others achieve the level of faith we have attained. Help someone else learn to move that grain of sand. Help someone else attain your level of faith and then grow together in faith.

Learning Faith From "The Master"

  I have always wanted to learn from the best. To sit at their feet and absorb their knowledge, pick their brains, get lost in the aura of their presence.  We get the privilege of doing that, every time we look and read The Gospel. We get to learn,absorb, and grow our faith at the feet of "The Master"  
   The next time you read The Gospels, I want you to absorb how Jesus handles every situation. His faith is a calming force, constantly at work, in every situation. There is never panic, there is never worry, not even with all the brutality of the cross. Jesus faith and absolute trust in His Father, never let Jesus down.
    God will test our faith, so that our faith will grow in Him. God doesn't do these testings for His knowledge, because He already knows us, better than we know ourselves. He allows these tests of faith, so that we, His people, can know and measure our faith in Him.
    It seems that Jesus was constantly asking His disciples, where is your faith. We see this most dramatically on The Sea of Galilee, Jesus and His disciples are crossing the sea in a ship, when a fierce storm arises.
    I want you to realize two important factors from this story. Number one, Jesus had already given His disciples power to cast out demons and heal the sick, so power isn't in question, their faith is. Second, if the disciples truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah, nowhere in scripture, does The Messiah, perish at sea.
    The disciples wake Jesus in a panic, afraid of perishing in this terrible storm. 
    Picture this with me, Jesus gets up and says "Peace be Still" and the storm ceases. Realize that the storm and the wind knew His voice. Jesus would not have to yell "Peace be Still" as you see in most movies depicting this scene. I picture Jesus saying this without raising His voice, as calm as He wants the storm to become, "Peace be Still"
    Then Jesus turns to His disciples and says, "Where is your faith?"
    I wonder, how many times Jesus has asked us the same thing. We are in a panic, worried, anxious, wondering what to do. We have the Power of God in us and around us at all times, as His Children. We have the example of Jesus, never being in a hurry, never being in a panic, about anything. When I get this way, and finally stop and turn it over to God. I can picture, "The Master" calmly standing in front of me, with a little smirk on His Face, staring into my eyes and asking, "Where is your Faith?"
    Christians are supposed to be a calming influence on the world we live in. We know God, The Creator. we know He holds our past, present and future, in the palm of His Hands. If we, God's Children, can't be calm when life's storms overtake us, how are those that don't believe in a all powerful God supposed to react.

Remember "Peace be Still"

One Day at a Time

There is an old hymn that says, One day at a time, Sweet Jesus. Just as we put one foot in front of the other to walk, our journey with Jesus Christ, can only be done one day at a time. If we look at our yesterdays, we won't be able to see the things in today that will make us stumble and fall. If we look to far into the future, we won't see what is immediately in front of us, that could cause us to stumble and fall.
    Jesus tells us, over and over, to live for today. God is living in today with us, that is why He is called I Am. While God can see all of time, present, future and past, He knows that our greatest need is now. If we can make it through today, with God, then our faith grows to where we can make it through tomorrow, with God.
    Life is an endurance race, not a sprint. Satan will always attack us at our weakest points, in this life. When we are at our weakest, is when our toughest choices are made. Who's hand do we grab for help?
    

    What do you grab for, when you are at your weakest?
    Do you grab for The Bible or the bottle?
    Do you grab for God's Hand or a hand full of pills?
    Do you look to Jesus or do you look to pornography?
    

    At your weakest, you will make a choice between Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and your favorite(the one you fall for over and over) drug or sin. Our faith and strength are built up over time, as we get in the habit of reaching out for God's Hand. Every battle we face, every temptation, every heartache, every pain, there are hands reaching out towards us.
    The hands of Satan and his followers, will lead us down a dark path, filled with more temptation, more heartache, more pain, with a promise of it will get better, if you drink this, take this, watch this. But there is no permanent fix for our hurt, so we drink more, take more pills, watch more porn. This downward spiral gets harder and harder to get out of, the deeper and deeper we go, until we find ourselves in the pits of Hell.
    We always have God's hands reaching out to us, on a continuous basis. God offers us His arms to hold us in times of weakness, Jesus hands, to heal our heartache and our pain, The Holy Spirit with the armor of God to protect us from sin and temptation. Our faith in God will continue to grow and soar, holding onto His Hand.
    Most of us, try and straddle the fence between God and Satan. We want the best of both worlds. We want to play in Satan's world and not get sucked in, and play in God's world and have the security of Heaven and our sins forgiven. Most of us are neither hot or cold, when it comes to Jesus Christ and service for His Kingdom.
    Jesus addresses a church filled with people, straddling the world between good and evil, God and Satan.
In Revelation chapter 3:14-22, Jesus says, ...you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth. The idea is projectile vomit, shooting across an area. The other thing Jesus says, to show us how far lukewarm Christians are from God. Jesus says, Behold I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door... Lukewarm Christians have closed doors to Jesus. Our Faith Keeps Them Open!

Start Small

Faith is a process of growth. It starts with our belief, and through trials and work it develops into a stronger and stronger faith, in what God can and will do. We see this development in many Bible Characters, but I want to concentrate on Samuel and David today.
    Samuel was dedicated and given to God as a child by his mother Hannah. Hannah did this, because she was barren and God blessed her and her husband with Samuel. Hannah promised God, her child for God's service.
    When the time came, Samuel was given to Eli, The High Priest, to raise as a Servant of God. One night, Samuel heard a voice calling him. Samuel ran to Eli, to see what the priest needed. Eli told Samuel, I didn't call go back to bed. This happened three times and on the third time Eli told Samuel to say, "Speak, Lord, for thy servant hears."
    So Samuel said as he was told the next time the call came. Then the Lord spoke to Samuel about the impending doom that was to come to Eli's house, because of Eli's sons blaspheming God.
    This was the first of many prophesies by Samuel, in the Bible. It established Samuel as God's Prophet and the Bible says none of Samuel's words fell to the ground. Meaning that every word out of Samuels mouth, came to pass.
    God watched Samuel grow. God saw and appreciated how Samuel did his work in God's House. God started Samuel out with a small prophesy and eventually Samuel became The Prophet of Israel, anointing not only Saul, as king, but anointing David as King of Israel.
    David grew up in the house of Jesse, with older brothers and sisters. David tended to the families sheep, and learned how to use a sling, a lyre, and write poetry and music, while tending his fathers sheep. 
    While David was tending His father's sheep, he chased off a bear and a lion, using his sling and stones. Later his mastery of these tools and instruments would help Him defeat Goliath, but also help him in service to God as the primary writer of Psalms. 
    God starts all of us out with belief. We can believe, just as Satan believes or we can start to test our belief, with actions and words. 
    Our faith in God grows with every trial we overcome. Our faith grows with every "valley of death" we traverse and come through safely. Our faith in God grows with every triumph over temptation that we endure. None of these victories are even possible without God in our lives.
    God is our strength in times of trials. God carries us, as we traverse through the "valleys of death." God is our comfort and holds us as we go through life's temptations.

     
     

 

Faith vs Belief

 Lets talk about the difference between belief and faith, today.   
    Belief: An acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.
    Faith: A strong belief or trust in someone or something. Belief that is not based on proof.
    An example I read while studying to write this piece, was written by a man from Chicago, Illinois. His example was based on his Chicago experience. He believed that using a crosswalk was the safest way to cross the street in Chicago. Faith is walking between the lines, believing that the crosswalk, doesn't make you an easier target for a speeding car.
    We can believe something, all day, everyday, and never move. We can believe anything, have verified proof of what we believe and never move a muscle. Once we believe something, anything, and take action based on that belief, we are acting on faith
    


    Belief + Action= Faith                 

    


    

    
    There are buildings filled with believers every weekend. They come in, they sit down, sing a few songs, listen to a sermon, sing an invitation hymn and go home. Satan and his demons believe in God. James 2:19 tells us, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe and tremble." (New King James) James also tells us that faith without works(actions) is dead. 
    Faith - works(actions)= dead, but doesn't faith - action= belief. Using the basic principles of equalization, 
if faith - works(action)= dead and faith - works(action)= belief, then couldn't we legitimately say belief = dead or belief is dead.
In Matthew 25:31-46 we get to see a look at judgement day for those that believe in Jesus as Lord. The sheep and the goats are divided into two groups. 
    The sheep, not only believed, but also did good works. They fed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty,   welcomed strangers, clothed the naked, visited the prisoners. Jesus tells His sheep, when you did these things for the least of people, you also did it to me.
    To the goats, who only believed, Jesus says, depart from me for I was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, a prisoner, naked, and you did nothing for me. Those that only believe say when did we see you like that, and Jesus said that whatever you didn't do for the least of these, you also didn't do for me.
    Belief + works(action)= Faith                                                                     Faith - works(action)= belief = dead