How strong is your Faith? (Full Version)

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mvic -> How strong is your Faith? (6/15/2008 8:05:54 PM)

This is not meant to insult anyone.

Presumably, once you did not believe - then you believed in God and your Faith grew from strength to strength. You know you'll go to Heaven.

How can you be so sure?

How can you be so certain that your Faith will not be shaken so much at some time in the future that you will not believe any more?



PressingUpward -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/15/2008 8:36:16 PM)

Our Lord has been called the "Hound of Heaven" who seeks us out. I had been away from Him,
but His gentle call lured me back to Him. More and more, I began to realize that I wanted His way, and
not the way of the world.

He promises that as we commit our steps to Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. Our hearts will continue to desire Him. As Peter said, "Lord, to whom would we go?" It is all about a relationship. That is what makes it so powerful.

sj



CherishedbyGod -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/15/2008 8:40:02 PM)

My faith did fail about 8-10 years ago, after being a Christian for about 20 years.

But His faithfulness to me did not fail.

My faith now, only rests on the faithfulness of The Lord Jesus Christ. Our whole Christian life and walk rests on His faithfulness (trustworthiness) to us.

Thomas said to the other Apostles:

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
John 21:24-25


I see other Christians looking upon him with contempt. But none of us can begin to know the absolute horror of seeing this Jesus, Who we follow, being so brutally treated, tortured and murdered and know how we would react. We look down on Thomas yet none of us have ever gone through what those apostles went through.

Jesus met Thomas and gave Thomas what he requested. Jesus was faithful to Thomas even tho it appears Thomas faith had failed.

And you know what? Thomas went on to be a missionary and to be martryed for this Jesus Who was faithful to Thomas even when Thomas' faith failed.



Lufia -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/15/2008 8:49:43 PM)

I know i'll be in Heaven because i believe john 3:16. If i doubt my place in Heaven, it means that i doubt Jonh 3:16 And since it is the word of God, i would doubt God's Word in doing so and almost telling that God don't tell the Truth, witch is false. So i believe John 3:16 and God's Word. I will be in heaven.

I also know that the HS within me will not let me down ever. Nothing will separate me from God.



WesleyGlenn -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/15/2008 10:59:36 PM)

Phillipians Chapter 1 v.6 reads, "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;" NKJ

Same verse in the Amplified reads, "And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you."

Whatever I go through I know that He, not me, is in control.



PressingUpward -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/16/2008 8:14:18 PM)

Beautiful answers. Praise the Lord

Sj



ladyichigo -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/16/2008 8:17:11 PM)

It is HIS faithfulness that keeps me going. It's not me. It's Him.



SonInMe1 -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/16/2008 9:38:02 PM)

I cannot question my salvation because I did not earn it. I can't keep it by my own power and I cannot lose it by "making a choice". I either have it...or I do not.

Why do I have it? I have no idea. How do I know I have it?

Well there is this thing called the Holy Spirit. There is evidence in my life. I know what I believe.



Miril -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/16/2008 9:42:06 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mvic

This is not meant to insult anyone.

Presumably, once you did not believe - then you believed in God and your Faith grew from strength to strength. You know you'll go to Heaven.

How can you be so sure?

How can you be so certain that your Faith will not be shaken so much at some time in the future that you will not believe any more?


Because God showed me the mighty things he does with my Great Faith.



JimboFletch -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 3:54:18 PM)

When I was first born again, I could only speculate. That was 41 years ago and I know with certainty that Jesus is truly faithful and the faith He gave me has endured troubles, sorrows, lean times, blessings, joys, and plenty. He really IS the Friend that sicks closer than a brother.

My faith is strong ONLY because of it's object, Jesus Christ God the Son!!!!



Little_1 -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 5:28:29 PM)

God cannot lie and I trust in His Word. His Word says:

"He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until that day."

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God's Word also says:

"Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ." It is good to be grounded and familiar with God's Word - listening to God's Word often has a way of building our faith.
--------------------------------------------------------
I trust all of the above mentioned. However, if I was to trust my feelings, I would find it difficult some days to believe that I am going to Heaven. Thankfully, God's Word and His promises are not based on my feelings or I'd be in big trouble!

This past year has been one of the hardest years of my life and yet I thank God for what He has taught me spiritually throughout it all. I can honestly say that God has been faithful to us in the midst of trial and adversity and although I would never have chosen our difficulties, they have also been a very blessed time through Christ. Severe trials have a way of making us either choose faith (i.e. to trust God and keep our focus on him despite the outward circumstances) or faint as a result of the outward circumstances.

P.S. It is worth noting that Jesus said: "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Matthew 17:20).
It is not the size of our faith that matters - it is the size of the God we have faith in that matters!



x_SoliDeoGloria_x -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 8:57:04 PM)

quote:

My faith is strong ONLY because of it's object, Jesus Christ God the Son!!!!


Exactly. The real question isn't how strong is MY faith (which really isn't MY faith, because even our faith is a gift from God), but rather, how strong is the object of my faith.



x_SoliDeoGloria_x -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 8:59:32 PM)

quote:

It is not the size of our faith that matters - it is the size of the God we have faith in that matters!


AMEN!



_CANCELLED_ -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 9:25:53 PM)

quote:

It is not the size of our faith that matters - it is the size of the God we have faith in that matters!



Mmmm...I believe that, of course, but don't be mislead into thinking the size of your faith doesn't matter b'c I believe it does--for the believer. If it didn't, Jesus and the Bible wouldn't talk so much about it. There wouldn't be so many stories of faith and the fact that it's tested by satan.

I'm not as articulate about the Bible as most--or many--but I do want to say something. For all of my Christian life (20 years this October) I've prayed for more faith and I felt I was blessed with a great abundance of faith to begin with. But it seems that every time I pray for more faith, something major happens in my life to test it, yet, it's never wavered or deminished. It's actually grown stronger, glory be to God. I'm not saying this to be boastful b'c it's not something of my own doing--as I said, it's a gift from God. So I try to be careful when I ask for my faith to be increased--to make sure I'm not already in the midst of one trial before another falls on me. In other words, I've learned to be careful what I ask for b'c He IS listening.

My question is, if it's a gift from God--and it is, why does it seem to come so easy for some and not for others?



Prairiehiker -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 10:06:05 PM)

I have faith smaller than a mustard seed, but as long as I keep Jesus as the object of my faith, I know it'll keep growing.

I have my doubts, and I believe that in wrestling with these doubts that my faith grows.



Fulllife76 -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/17/2008 10:20:52 PM)

I couldn't say it any better. I totally agree. No matter how much I try to walk away he draws me back.



mayfly -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 2:53:23 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimboFletch
My faith is strong ONLY because of it's object, Jesus Christ God the Son!!!!

Amen!



mvic -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 9:28:00 AM)

I've read all your posts over and again. There are still questions in my mind which are un-answered. Maybe I'm obtuse.

JimboFletch: You say "My Faith is strong only because of its object, Jesus".
What do you mean exactly? I accept that one's belief in someone or something depends on who or what that someone/thing is. But surely at the end of the day the "strength" of that faith/belief must depend on you. You're the initiator of that Faith.

Later SoliDeoGloria says: "My Faith ... is a gift from God". This implies that God gives someone a lot of Faith and the individual can go through various trials and tribulations and come out still very faithful; whereas others are given little Faith and soon crumble. If this were true then it takes away all responsibility from the individual. I can go happily along crumbling from one Faith crisis to another and blame it on God for not giving me a full ration of Faith.

As Won by One says, there are plenty of stories in the Bible about Faith. Jesus does say if you had just a little Faith you could ask mountains to move. He calls people "you of little Faith". All this implies to me that the final responsibility is ours to first have Faith and believe, and then to strengthen and grow that Faith as we journey through life.

Have I got it wrong?



JimboFletch -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 9:53:48 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mvic
JimboFletch: You say "My Faith is strong only because of its object, Jesus".
What do you mean exactly? I accept that one's belief in someone or something depends on who or what that someone/thing is. But surely at the end of the day the "strength" of that faith/belief must depend on you. You're the initiator of that Faith.

I sure am glad and blessed that it isn't true that I am the initiator of my faith in Jesus. This could be a topic all in itself, but true faith, saving faith, enduring faith, is a gift of God. The Bible is clear that we do not, will not, seek after Him - that God is the initiator in salvation and growth in Jesus Christ.



mvic -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 11:49:45 AM)

Thank you JimboFletch for a quick response.

I'm still confused. If you are not the initiator of your Faith and it is a gift from God; then is it true that the reason you have more Faith than me is because God was more generous to you than me?

How about un-believers with no Faith at all? Is it their fault they don't believe or is it because God gave them no gift of Faith?



JimboFletch -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 11:57:28 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: mvic

Thank you JimboFletch for a quick response.

I'm still confused. If you are not the initiator of your Faith and it is a gift from God; then is it true that the reason you have more Faith than me is because God was more generous to you than me?

How about un-believers with no Faith at all? Is it their fault they don't believe or is it because God gave them no gift of Faith?

If you have less faith than another, then the faith you are exercising is your own or in someting other than God the Son.



_CANCELLED_ -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 1:00:26 PM)

quote:

Bible is clear that we do not, will not, seek after Him - that God is the initiator in salvation and growth in Jesus Christ.


Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, now I'm confused. If we do not seek after Him, what, exactly, does this passage mean:

Jeremiah 29:13--And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.



JimboFletch -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 1:50:02 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Won_by_One

quote:

Bible is clear that we do not, will not, seek after Him - that God is the initiator in salvation and growth in Jesus Christ.


Unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying, now I'm confused. If we do not seek after Him, what, exactly, does this passage mean:

Jeremiah 29:13--And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Nice OT verse. God doesn't hide, even Paul writes that we know instinctively of God's existence. The question is: once you find Him, does that mean you are saved or just enlightened to His existence and, possibly, your condition?



_CANCELLED_ -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 2:03:18 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: JimboFletch

Nice OT verse.


Not sure what you mean. Did I go off topic? I didn't think so since it related to something you said. My apologies if I'm going off topic.


quote:

ORIGINAL: JimboFletch
God doesn't hide, even Paul writes that we know instinctively of God's existence. The question is: once you find Him, does that mean you are saved or just enlightened to His existence and, possibly, your condition?


I think sometimes we have a tendency to try to over-analyze our brothers and sisters in Christ as far as their personal walk with Jesus and their understanding of God and salvation, if not their salvation all together.



deliveredarling -> RE: How strong is your Faith? (6/18/2008 2:21:29 PM)

Please post scripture stating that faith is a gift. I'm still looking for it\[&o].



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