Welcome and thanks for visiting! If you are studying Embrace Grace by Liz Curtis Higgs with
us, we are in Chapter 3 this week, “Embrace Faith…How do I find the faith to
touch him?”
This week, my thoughts have been all over the place. I’ve
spent time reading and studying Scripture verses on faith, and I keep going
back to them, thinking about how faith in Christ is our firm foundation and how
our faith grows.
As we trust Him and walk in faith, He enables us to grow
stronger in our faith.
We trust Him and He
does the work in us.
While I don’t have something written that ties this all
together, I want to share the verses and what I’ve been thinking about with
you.
**Fair warning…this post is as disjointed as my thoughts
have been all week.**
Isaiah 7:9b (NLT)
Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm.
(God speaking to Isaiah about whether rulers trust God or
their enemies.)
Note from my NLT Study Bible (Tyndale): Firm trust in the
Lord is utterly essential, especially for a leader of God’s people, and it must
be firmly acted upon in order to demonstrate that it exists.
____
2 Chronicles 20:20 (NIV)
As
they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of
Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld;
have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.”
2 Chronicles 20:20b (NLT)
“Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to
stand firm. Believe in his prophets, and you will succeed.”
_______
Colossians 2:7 (NLT)
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be
built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught,
and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:7 (CEV)
Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation
for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be
grateful.
_______
Lastly, I keep thinking about Liz’s story of how she first
came to faith. (Embrace Grace, pgs.
40-41, and also on her Web site.)
She tells of friends who didn’t look down on her and expect
her to be “fixed” before they could take her to church. No, they started the
same way God starts with us. They loved her as God loves us. They showed her
their faith, not by preaching, but by being an example.
And I’m reminded of two Scripture
verses.
1 John 4:19 (NIV)
We love because he first loved us.
Romans 5:8 (NIV)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God makes the first move and waits with open arms for us to respond. How have you responded?
How can we be better examples of
God’s love as we walk in faith?
In Christ,
I read Liz's story - and it seems to be the message He is drumming into my head - love the broken, the rebels, the runaways - see them how I see them - and pursue them how I pursue them:) That's when His faith and love come alive and walk and touch and hug and heal! Thank you for your message:) a beautiful voice in this chorus He keeps playing for me!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. I just read your story and it touched my heart. May God continue to speak to you and bless you.
DeleteI've been thinking about that verse, "Let your roots grow down into Him." I love how when God begins to speak to my heart I see it's implications everywhere.
ReplyDeleteDon't you just love Liz Curtis Higgs? I think the slogan of her website pulls it all together, "An Encourager."
The books you choose to study always look so good. Thanks for sharing this over at WholeHearted Wednesdays this past week.
ReplyDelete