Well that about does it...Praise God!So happy that you were led here, there is just a vast ocean of resources available, hope you dig deep and explore and that this causes your faith to abound more and more!And that segues nicely into something that if the Lord was to stand in front of me right now and speak it, it couldn't be any clearer... and now this is the final confirmation;"Have Faith in God" Will surely give this a listen. The oddity that brought this all about was in burning a CD to listen to another recommended message, actually two, from Stephen Kaung that stemmed from this thread Steven Kuang yesterday.On a whim, randomly selected a variety of other messages without any preconceived thought as to their content, some I hadn't listened to in quite awhile;Easter Passion by Jim CymbalaAbout Doubtful Things by Ray Stedman Romans 14:1-23 A couple of others, but this morning found me in Luke staring at previous highlighted verses; Luk 7:46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Luk 7:47 Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Luk 7:48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. Luk 7:49 And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? Luk 7:50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.And Luk 8:23 But as they sailed he fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake; and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. Luk 8:24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. Luk 8:25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith?All this and especially the Cymbala message which is just a practically pleading with the brethren to have faith coupled with the slight sting at the end of Romans; "...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." From the Ray Stedman message...I am getting the point. This started somewhat under the radar a couple of days ago as the thoughts in prayer and elsewhere to what would minister unto the Lord, not, 'what's in it for me?', but what would be pleasing to the Lord and it did cross my mind, in the machinery of thoughts swirling about, that,Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. But it didn't quite sink in.Diligence surely, faith, but of course... Or really? It brought me back to first principles. Reminded of the old coach, Vince Lombardi;"But at one point in a practice, he just got so frustrated with what was going on with the players that he blew the whistle."Everybody stop and gather around," he said. Then he knelt down, picked up the pigskin, and said, "Let's start at the beginning. This is a football. These are the yard markers. I'm the coach. You are the players." He went on, in the most elementary of ways, to explain the basics of football.For all that we know to do and the myriad of things we can get caught up in, sometimes a return to just some fundamental principles, foundations is needed. And it is quite surprising to find that some things can be just taken for granted, neglected...But the Lord is gracious, being that while this was brought to my attention with a bit of a sting and a quick repentance, it wasn't a guilt producing or a condemning felt rebuke, more of a...Remember? 'Remember all the things I have said to you?' Remember Abraham's faith? Remember; "if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?" ' 'Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.Came across this earlier in the week: (a) Let it be once admitted that with God, no miracle is impossible. Let it be acknowledged that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, no true prayer will remain unblessed. But faith in God is by no means a light or trivial thing. Robert Bruce of Edinburgh used sometimes to pause in his preaching, and, bending over the pulpit, say with much solemnity, "I think it's a great matter to believe there is a God." Once he confessed that during three years he had never said, "My God," without being "challenged and disquieted for the same." "These words, 'My God,'" said Ebenezer Erskine, "are the marrow of the Gospel." To be able to hold the living God within our feeble grasp, and say with assurance, "God, even our own God, shall bless us" (Psa. 67:6), demands a faith which is not of nature's birth. The Hidden Life of PrayerThanks for sharing this and pardon my spilling forth here, just seems that we haven't really talked in depth about this in awhile. And what more pleasing to the Lord than we just simply believe Him and obey Him out of a heart of gratitude...
