ROM 10:8-11
But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."
Here are some definitions of Trust: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something to rely on the truthfulness or accuracy of : believe: to place confidence in : rely on : to hope or expect confidently: dependence on something future or contingent : hope
On Friday, I was led to study Romans because of a discussion regarding the Mary, and Martha post from a few days ago (Jan 2012). The words were given to me at the very end of this study with God, Faith is an outward Expression of the belief in our heart. This can be of word, or action. It usually comes naturally, and we do not take a moment to think about it before we express. I feel that sometimes spirits can distract our mind, so that we are unwilling to access our heart.
Beliefs can be formed in many diffrent ways. There is a head knowledge of what we are supposed to BELIEVE as Christians (obligation). Beliefs that are passed down from other generations either by force or trust in their opinions. There is a belief that can be developed through the testimony of others. There is a knowing/trusting of the heart belief, that usually comes from first hand experience of someone or something. There is another rare type which is just believing/trusting without a doubt that what someone says is true, without needing any evidence. We usually see this type of trust in a child towards thier parents. It is the truest, most beautiful and pure form of belief/trust that a person can have, and the trust we are born with until life experiences, and fallible humans take their toll on us.
In most cases our trust or lack of trust(belief) in a person, is a byproduct of the relationship we have with them. In the early stages, we know them because of what they say, or what we have maybe heard about them. I have noticed that it usually takes me about 3 months or more with a person, to give me enough time to truly know them by hearing what they have said, and being able to observe if their actions match thier words. It is this dance in a relationship that develops trust, or lack of trust/belief in someone. It is very important to pay close attention to what a person says, so that you are able to know without a doubt once they have fulfilled their promises, or have acted in the extreme opposite way of how they speak. The more that we see them fulfill their promises, the more it strengthens our Trust/Belief in that person. After a while of knowing them as a trustworthy person, we are able to develop a strong true belief in that person. We can tell we have this type of belief in them, when they can say something to us, and we don't have to stop to think of whether it is true or not. Our first reaction to what they say is that they are speaking truth to us rather than the other way around.
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen...
conviction, definitions:
a: the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth
b: the state of being convinced of error or compelled to admit the truth
a: a strong persuasion or belief
In Romans 12:3 it states that each man is given THE measure of Faith.
JER1:5
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set
you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."
JER31:34
No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the
LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,"
declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their
sins no more."
CONTINUED ........................... upon finishing this blog from Jan 2012, I was led to the following insights.. A dear friend of mine had posted this after my Grandmother had passed away:
-Red Winged Messenger-
On Tuesday May 29th, the 3rd morning of the week, I headed out for my prayer walk to hear from God. I have come to know that God not only speaks to us through His word but also through His creation which is a manifestation of His word. My intention on the walk this particular morning was to lift my friend Angela up to Him, that He may comfort her and bring her peace over the passing of her Grandmother. I had barely taken twenty steps when a cardinal caught my attention. A scripture immediately popped into my mind, "a bird of the air shall carry the voice, that which has wings shall tell the matter." I knew in this instance that the voice being carried by way of the cardinal was that of God. The cardinal was standing on the largest rock boulder in our front yard just staring at me and making song. "What are you telling me Lord through this red winged messenger?" As I questioned it dawned on me that I had brought my smart phone along with me for taking notes. It hit me that I should google "symbolism of the Cardinal" when I did so, I scanned the links available and one caught my eye, "religious symbolism of the Cardinal". When I clicked it, this is what I saw, "the Cardinal Bird is symbolic of faith, it comes to remind us to KEEP THE FAITH. It also reminds us that we as believers are covered by the blood of Christ. I knew that the message, "Keep the faith" was not only a reminder to me, but was a message sent by God through this red winged messenger for Angela on behalf of her Grandmother.
When I went back through the email that Angela had sent to me, something I had overlooked stood out and confirmed the message was for her. The last thing mentioned that she noticed right after her grandmother passed, " a cardinal singing to me from the tree in the yard next to hers." The passing of a loved one is always hard. It does cause us to reflect upon our faith and as we ponder it, God sends this very clear message to direct us, "Keep the Faith."
The picture in my mind of the Cardinal standing on the boulder is very strong imagery. It will forever remind me that Christ is the rock, the one solid foundation. The cornerstone of my faith.
On Tuesday May 29th, the 3rd morning of the week, I headed out for my prayer walk to hear from God. I have come to know that God not only speaks to us through His word but also through His creation which is a manifestation of His word. My intention on the walk this particular morning was to lift my friend Angela up to Him, that He may comfort her and bring her peace over the passing of her Grandmother. I had barely taken twenty steps when a cardinal caught my attention. A scripture immediately popped into my mind, "a bird of the air shall carry the voice, that which has wings shall tell the matter." I knew in this instance that the voice being carried by way of the cardinal was that of God. The cardinal was standing on the largest rock boulder in our front yard just staring at me and making song. "What are you telling me Lord through this red winged messenger?" As I questioned it dawned on me that I had brought my smart phone along with me for taking notes. It hit me that I should google "symbolism of the Cardinal" when I did so, I scanned the links available and one caught my eye, "religious symbolism of the Cardinal". When I clicked it, this is what I saw, "the Cardinal Bird is symbolic of faith, it comes to remind us to KEEP THE FAITH. It also reminds us that we as believers are covered by the blood of Christ. I knew that the message, "Keep the faith" was not only a reminder to me, but was a message sent by God through this red winged messenger for Angela on behalf of her Grandmother.
When I went back through the email that Angela had sent to me, something I had overlooked stood out and confirmed the message was for her. The last thing mentioned that she noticed right after her grandmother passed, " a cardinal singing to me from the tree in the yard next to hers." The passing of a loved one is always hard. It does cause us to reflect upon our faith and as we ponder it, God sends this very clear message to direct us, "Keep the Faith."
The picture in my mind of the Cardinal standing on the boulder is very strong imagery. It will forever remind me that Christ is the rock, the one solid foundation. The cornerstone of my faith.
Revelations ADDED TODAY NOV 23,2012
Cardinal:
1 : of basic
importance : main
chief primary ‹a ~ principle› the
Cardinal Bird is symbolic of faith, it comes to remind us to KEEP THE FAITH
CHIEF: the head
of a body of persons or an organization
PRINCIPLE: a primary source : origin,
a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption, first in order of time or development
The cardinal was standing on
a Rock-
Dt 32:3 I will proclaim the
name of the LORD. Oh,
praise the greatness of our God!
Dt 32:4 He is the Rock, his works are
perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who
does no wrong, upright and just is he.
KEEP THE FAITH (preserve the Truth of the Lord, bearing witness to
the Testimony of Jesus Christ revealed by His Holy Spirit to you through His
Word. When you hear it, you will know it to be true, because your Spirit will
bear witness with His and what is already written on your heart. The Spirit
will whisper reminders of what you have always known.
HEB 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
FAITH IS THE ASSURANCE OR
SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR AND THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN. HEB 11:1
THE WORDS GOD HAD GIVEN TO
ME (JAN 2012 ON MY BLOG POST ): FAITH IS
THE OUTWARD EXPRESSION OF A BELIEF IN A PERSON’S HEART. BELIEF
IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PHYSICALLY SEE. IT IS ONLY EVIDENT WHEN WE HEAR
THE TESTIMONY OF PERSON REGARDING THAT WHICH THEY BELIEVE IN. WHEN WE BELIEVE
IN SOMETHING; WE SPEAK ABOUT IT WITH BOLDNESS.
In regards to having Faith in
the promises of the Lord, we identify His promises through reading His Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to
translate to your heart. As we become
aware of His promises, we are able to clearly see His promises fulfilled in our
lives. This fuels our Faith and we are transformed into Faith-FULL
trusting servants of the Lord, able to fuel the Faith of other’s through our
testimony.
So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" (John 4:27-29 RSV)
******an interesting note is that back in those times, the woman’s water jar would have been similar to her purse as it was needed daily for the task of gathering water and would have likely been a security to her**********
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world." (John 4:39-42 RSV)
A THOUGHT TO PONDER: ARE YOU SPEAKING THE TESTIMONY OF CHRIST TO THOSE AROUND YOU? WHEN WE BELIEVE IN SOMETHING, WE SPEAK ABOUT IT.
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