FAITH

Faith is an interesting word in Christianity. It is used 270 times in the NIV translation alone. The New Testament Greek word for faith is PISTIS which can simply mean faith, trust, and belief. It is a word with power and great potential, but because we toss it around so frequently in the Church I think sometimes it loses the power that God intended it to have for His people. God desires that we have a greater faith than what I see in the Church of the 21st Century. Our faith has been deduced to attending Church instead of believing in God for His movement in our lives and in our circumstances.

We have sinned with our lack of faith perhaps. We do not believe in God for big things or for movement in our lives like He desires. Hebrews 11:6 in the NIV says "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." A famous verse that we have learned to quote, but have forgotten its power. Faith is expectation and it is action. It is giving all situations to the Lord concerning our Church and our families. It is being detailed in seeking him with regularity and an expectation that He will move in those situations. It is a boldness that comes through believing that He is going to move in the situations that we lift up to Him. Our problem is that we sometimes become discouraged because God answers differently than what we envisioned in our finite minds. The Church and its people need to admit this an need to move beyond this type of thinking.

I have come to believe through my study in the Word of God lately that God indeed wants His people to trust and believe in Him for great movements in their lives and in their Churches. We have become timid and comfortable with our packaged Christianity that we have left little room for God's movement and have supplemented that with a great amount of knowledge. Where is the great revival of our day? Where are those being set free from things that hold them in bondage as Christians? Where is the emotional healing in families right inside the walls of the Church? Is God waiting for something from His people? I believe He is! I believe that He is waiting for a faith that seeks Him continually and is bold in that seeking. I believe that God is looking for those who trust in Him and are willing to wait upon his movement with a belief that He is going to move in the situation that they give over to Him continually. It is time for the Church to have a greater trust in the Lord and a greater sense of seeking their God. I believe that faith matters! What do you believe?