March 19, 2004

[Kidan]

Quote[/b] ]He went out, not knowing where he was going
—Hebrews 11:8

Quote[/b] ]In the Old Testament, a person’s relationship with God was seen by the degree of separation in that person’s life. This separation is exhibited in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and his family. When we think of separation today, we do not mean to be literally separated from those family members who do not have a personal relationship with God, but to be separated mentally and morally from their viewpoints. This is what Jesus Christ was referring to in Luke 14:26 .

Living a life of faith means never knowing where you are being led. But it does mean loving and knowing the One who is leading. It is literally a life of faith, not of understanding and reason—a life of knowing Him who calls us to go. Faith is rooted in the knowledge of a Person, and one of the biggest traps we fall into is the belief that if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world.

The final stage in the life of faith is the attainment of character, and we encounter many changes in the process. We feel the presence of God around us when we pray, yet we are only momentarily changed. We tend to keep going back to our everyday ways and the glory vanishes. A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day—in and day—out consistency; a life of walking without fainting (see Isaiah 40:31 ). It is not even a question of the holiness of sanctification, but of something which comes much farther down the road. It is a faith that has been tried and proved and has withstood the test. Abraham is not a type or an example of the holiness of sanctification, but a type of the life of faith-a faith, tested and true, built on the true God. "Abraham believed God . . ." ( Romans 4:3 ).

 

[Kidan]

Faith, Knowledge and Character.

What do these three things have in common? They are all three attributes of a Christian. Any Christian that is lacking one of those 3 attributes is missing something from his walk with God.

Without faith, there is no relationship. We have to have faith that God is there for us, we have to have faith to trust God. How do we get faith? From the Word.

Knowledge. God has commanded us to learn. We're to be ready to give answers when questioned about our religion, as well as we're to know other things. God places importance on learning new things (why else would He have gave us the capability to learn?). How do we get knowledge? By learning. By reading. By talking.

Character -- Character is how honest, trustworthy, loving, noble you are. A Christian without good character, is no different than a sinner. Being a good Christian means you will build a good character. How do we get character? By being the best Christian you can. You gain character by living the life that shows the values that make up good character.


So today, look at your life. Are you exhibiting the 3 attributes of a Christian? Should you be?

 

[Plankeye]

Living a life of faith and attaining knowledge and character has been a challenge for me personally. I remember when I first became a Christian when I was sixteen. I thought my faith was measured by how much of a spiritual high I got through youth group and special events. It wasn't until later that I realized growing my faith inbetween those highs was even more important. If you live your spiritual life based solely on those spirtual highs, just like getting high from drugs, after it is over, you can hit rock bottom. And at rock bottom, it is easy to miss God's will in our lives.

"if we have faith, God will surely lead us to success in the world" is a common misconception by those new to faith. And something that can become an early stumbling block. Having been saved now for almost 10 years, let me tell you that not every day will be a walk in the park. Loved ones pass away, friends are lost and bad things sneak up on you when you least expect them. That goes back to what I said about finding it more important to have faith inbetween those spiritual highs. It will sustain you through the valleys of life.

Knowledge is key. There are lots of stories in the bible about how faith sustained those dealing with trial and tribulation. But of course that knowledge only comes with the discipline of studying the word.