Believing God

I have been thinking a lot about grace and faith.  As a young Christian I was taught that faith was a means to move God.  We were taught that there are principles of faith that God would not ignore. If we only believed, confessed and acted we could get what ever we had set our faith toward.  As I have walked with God I find that I don't believe that God is so easily manipulated.  Don't misunderstand me, faith sits central to our life in God.  I do believe that we are to confess God's Word and put into practice, but in a response to a relationship and revelation from God.  My view of 'faith principles' has been shaped by the message of grace.  Grace in the Greek carries the idea of God's influence on our hearts.  God speaks to us by His Spirit; we are designed to be a people of revelation.  Faith is the response to an encounter with God.  Consider Gideon, frightened, hiding in a wine press.  An angel appears and makes a declaration that Gideon is a mighty man of God.  It was that revelation that propels him into the destiny that God had for him.  To some Gideon’s ongoing conversation and request for confirmation was a lack of faith on Gideon’s part.  Yet it speaks to a remarkable act of grace and revelation.  It was in that encounter that dynamic faith is fostered and released.  As a Bible teacher it is easier to contextualize Gideon’s request as unbelief and to discourage people to look to an encounter with God, than to set them up to the possibility of God not responding to their request.  We some times dumb down the mystic nature of Christianity to avoid any need to wrestle with God.  Jacob wrestled with God and carried the reminder for the rest of his life.  We need more divine encounters. Another truth that has come as I consider grace is that life is more about God and less about us.  We were created for His pleasure, yet some how we can lose that perspective and shift to ‘my happiness, my dreams, and my fulfillment’.  In all the heroes of faith we see recorded in the book of Hebrews, it was more about how they responded to God and His purposes for their life.  Life is complex; God’s ways are far above our own, He moves according to His own sovereignty. We are called to a living and dynamic relationship with God let us seek him and avoid resorting to formulas to find our way. When we “hear” God, then let us believe, confess and act with confidence.

Faith and Grace

I have been thinking a lot about grace and faith. As a young Christian I was taught that faith was a means to move God. We were taught that there are principles of faith that God would not ignore. If we only believed, confessed and acted we could get what ever we had set our faith toward. As I have walked with God I find that I don't believe that God is so easily manipulated. Don't misunderstand me, faith sits central to our life in God. I do believe that we are to confess God's Word and put into practice, but in a response to a relationship and revelation from God. My view of 'faith principles' has been shaped by the message of grace. Grace in the Greek carries the idea of God's influence on our hearts. God speaks to us by His Spirit; we are designed to be a people of revelation. Faith is the response to an encounter with God. Consider Gideon, frightened, hiding in a wine press. An angel appears and makes a declaration that Gideon is a mighty man of God. It was that revelation that propels him into the destiny that God had for him. To some Gideon’s ongoing conversation and request for confirmation was a lack of faith on Gideon’s part. Yet it speaks to a remarkable act of grace and revelation. It was in that encounter that dynamic faith is fostered and released. As a Bible teacher it is easier to contextualize Gideon’s request as unbelief and to discourage people to look to an encounter with God, than to set them up to the possibility of God not responding to their request. We some times dumb down the mystic nature of Christianity to avoid any need to wrestle with God. Jacob wrestled with God and carried the reminder for the rest of his life. We need more divine encounters. Another truth that has come as I consider grace is that life is more about God and less about us. We were created for His pleasure, yet some how we can lose that perspective and shift to ‘my happiness, my dreams, and my fulfillment’. In all the heroes of faith we see recorded in the book of Hebrews, it was more about how they responded to God and His purposes for their life. Life is complex; God’s ways are far above our own, He moves according to His own sovereignty. We are called to a living and dynamic relationship with God let us seek him and avoid resorting to formulas to find our way. When we “hear” God, then let us believe, confess and act with confidence.

Grace and Works

Some times exhortations given to live a purpose driven life of good works, seeking to bring glory to God, can seem to fly in the face of the message of grace. Is labor for the Kingdom, or seeking to bring our behaviors in line with Biblical standards works? Some would say yes others it depends on the motivations of the heart.

The Greek word for grace carries the idea of “the divine influence on the human heart." It is God who draws us, rescues us and gives us our standing with Him apart from works. Yet to state that exhortation to live a life of purpose and to make intelligent and reasoned application of the will to that end is works would in my opinion misses the point.

We were created for good works; grace (God's influence) produces that in us. Paul in Ro 12 tells believers to present themselves as a living sacrifice, and them describes that service as reasoned and intelligent service.

Grace invites us to co-labor with the Spirit of God to bring to pass the works that we have been given to do. While I do not believe that ever believer has the same call as, lets say Paul, that said, I do believe that every believe has a specific call and a destiny that sits in God heart for them. For that destiny to be realized takes the cooperation of the believer by responding to God's influence on their heart. I am not talking about salvation; I am talking about how we build on the foundation that grace lays in our life, wood, hay or subtle or precious stones. Jesus states "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:8), that is the out working of grace in the believers life. Fruit is the result of being connected to the vine, as Jesus says.

To trust in our works to make us acceptable to God is ludicrous, to respond to that incredible outpouring of mercy from God, putting our trust in the work of the cross leads to a consecrated life committed to the fathers will. We have the choice to give ourselves to the purposes of God or not. God affords us that choice without fear of punishment. I choose to live my life as a slave of God because of the remarkable work of grace. His love and interaction with me leaves me no other sane choice.