Finding the Personal Faith in the Lord Jesus.

Recently I have been pondering upon the first principle of the gosple, faith in Jesus Christ. This is due to the fact that in a recent e-mail, I was informed that I would be giving a talk at church on the subject, but wherever the thought begins, I have enjoyed thinking about faith. What faith is, what it can do, and what it really means.

I have been feeling like faith is the great "so what" question that many people ask. As I have been talking to people about their faith, it seems that there are many that have faith in Christ, but when asked "what do you do with that faith?" many come very puzzled like "wait a moment, we're supposed to be doing something with that?" Yes, we can do something with it, and it's something that can be a supporting force as we go about through our day.

I know the drudgery of the days, but I know that there is a lot of ability to have a sense of optimism and joy even through the most rainy days. It comes from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the honest seeking to feel His presence in our life. Things such as prayer, scripture study, and church attendance are things we do with faith to feel closer to the Savior. Visiting others and helping them has no reward other than an uplifted heart of those that recieve the help and those that help. These are things that are not seen, cannot be bought or sold, and can often be nothing more than a fleeting feeling, but they are real, just as real as the tears of joy we shed when we feel the love of Christ. Tears are evidence, but joy is the feeling, the source.

When we strive to do the things Christ has asked of us, we will be able to fully feel of His presence, and we will no longer need faith to do things he wants us to do, but rather, we will know that it's a sure promise. That's what faith ultimately leads to, a knowledge, and a happiness that is not achieved any other way.

So here comes the "so what." You have faith, good. I hope you do, now, so what? What are you going to do with that faith? Are you going to help others? How about pray and honestly listen to see if God will speak back? Are you going  to go to church, and try to live a better life? Our faith will support us in these tasks, but we must do something about it. So let's go do something.