Real Faith Takes Bold Steps

In a devotional I read from "Parenting by Design" put out by Christianity.com on November 23, 2011 entitled “Faith in the Unseen”, I am reminded of the Scripture I posted to my FB page - 2 Corinthians 4:18 "We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but rather on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, and what is unseen is eternal."

 Today's devotional is about Noah's decision to take a bold stand for righteousness for the spiritual well-being of his family in the midst of nay-sayers, persecution, and social ostracism. Could you imagine the consequence that would have come to mankind had Noah disobeyed?  But it was his faith in God that rescued his family from spiritual shipwreck.  It was his faith in God that changed the history of mankind.  He fixed his eyes on what he could not see – what was eternal, instead of what he could see.  Anyone can possess faith for what they can see, but real faith exists in the hope of what we do not see that is yet to come. 

It reminds me of two instances in my life when I did not walk in faith. 

Was It Fair That Jesus Was Crucified?

     Having been given the opportunity to share during an adult Bible study, I chose to share from a book I was just finishing entitled Exquisite Agony : Healing for Christians who have been hurt by other Christians written by Gene Edwards. Mr. Edwards takes us through a insightful approach to the Crucifixion, scene by scene. We read Luke 23: 26-43 - the familiar Scriptures of Christ's crucifixion. Then I began to read a few excerpts from Exquisite Agony.

Jumping Ship to Calm Your Storm

This past Sunday my son was ill, and as moms always do, I stayed home with him, missing morning worship. Realizing my soon-to-be 11 year old would want to "veg" in front of the wii station, I quickly made plans for us to spend time reading God's Word. I decided we would read the book of "Jonah", thinking he would be familiar with the story, which he was to some extent. Thank you God for Sunday school! He reassured me that he knew all about Jonah, and proceded to tell me that there wasn't a book of "Jonah" in the Bible.