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September 2006 Hand In Hand Ministries PublicationFilled with Hope through Faith and Love The Lord wants us to be filled with hope—not just because it points us to a brighter tomorrow, but because it changes the quality of our lives today. We can endure all things when our hope is centered in the One who will never fail us—our Savior, Jesus
Christ, the Light of the world. Our hope is in Him and throughout our life
with Him we learn to walk and live a life of Love toward Him and all those
that we join together with, in His Name. The scriptures tell us that if we
are to please Him we are to have faith because without faith it impossible
to please him. When we come to God we must believe that He is God and that
He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
What faith do we have? Where do we get faith? How does it work? Galatians says that we can live by the faith of the Son of God. The book of Romans has plenty to say on the subject. For instance, we are Justified by Faith. Our faith is accounted to us for Righteousness. We have access to the throne of God through Faith. Romans says, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God,” and all this is just a beginning concerning the word faith.
We learn through studying that our faith is in believing and understanding His word. The faith that we are to have is a trust. We are to trust that everything God promised He is able and will make those promises come to us in this life and in the life to come everlasting.
How does it work? It is important that we discover how it works for us in our lives. In Galatians 5:6 the Apostle Paul is answering a question concerning keeping the law. The question is: Who is right, since we live under Grace now and not under works and we have righteousness toward God through Faith in the completed work of the Son of God, do we still have to keep the law? Paul says, “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.”
So we see that our faith in Christ will work for us but it will only work if we live a life of Love. It is God’s Love not the human kind of Love, but the love that comes in our lives as we become like Christ, the more we become like him.
Romans 6:4 states that we should walk in newness of life by walking in the light, and we continue to understand why and how our faith works by Love. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7)
The following scripture allows us to see a
revelation of the Love the Father
The portion that we are gaining in this verse is the Love that God has for us is undeserved, and that is the same Love that we are to have toward believers, an undeserved Love. Sometimes we can feel love for others and sometimes we are just frustrated, but we can retain our faith that as a believer we have the Love of God abiding on the inside of us. This same Love whether we feel it or not still remains in us, and we are to act on it even when we don’t feel like sharing and giving God’s Love to other believers. We should catch ourselves when we think or say “They don’t deserve to be loved.” Sometimes we need help in order for us to understand that it is by Grace that God has given us His Love and Righteousness even though we don’t deserve it.
When praying and believing God, begin using your faith to believe God for the things that will bring eternal value, hope, and healing in your own life and in the lives of others, exercising your faith by edifying others will build a Godly character in you.
1 Corinthians 13:4 says Love is not selfish, and it is not boastful, God will call on us to fill the hearts and lives of others that have a need, and if God calls on you to do something for someone it will be because you have the resources available to bring an answer to their prayers.
God uses us, the family, the church, the body, to provide for the needs of others, and if you know of someone that has a need and you have the resources to provide that need you can bring an answer to their prayers.
When those needs are met, that person or organization will bring forth a good work with eternal value, a blessed hope, and a good testimony for the
How does it work? It works through love and obedience to the Spirit and the word of God. The Bible says that we should always seek to build up or edify (Romans14:16) and let peace rule in our hearts.
“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness” (Colossians ).
“And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full” (1 John 1:4).
Have an Enjoyable Day, in the Lord. by Fred Roark Ministries Website link There's Good News email Fred Roark Copyright © 2006 All rights reserved
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September
2006 Hand in Hand Ministries Publication
has for us in the scriptures.
(1 John 4:7-11) "Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that
we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that
he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved,
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."