Active Faith

Romans 10:17, "So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ." (NLT)

I am convinced that God is calling the Body of Christ to live with "active faith." We are reading about the atrocities of persecution that our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing in various parts of the world. How are they overcoming the challenges that are being extended toward them? How are they willingly choosing death rather than denying their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? How are they maintaining their deep abiding faith in God rather than abandoning their relationship because of what they are facing? I do not want to appear unsympathetic to their situation neither do I want my thoughts to appear too simplistic in response to their situation. But I do think that it is fair to say that their faith is an "active faith" in which their relationship with Jesus is growing, maturing and developing into one in which they are willing to pay the ultimate price as a testimony.

I do not know whether or not that I will ever face that type of situation or whether or not I will ever have to make that life or death decision. My answer today concerning my response would only be speculation. Each of us would like to think that we know what our decision would be if we were faced with that scenario but in reality we do not know what we would do if we were faced with that decision. 

BUT IF DO KNOW THIS TRUTH FOR SURE. I must allow the Word of God to come alive in my heart so that my personal faith can become stronger than it has ever been. We can not just depend on the corporate faith of the local community of believers in which we participate on a weekly basis. Although I do believe that we also need to see the corporate faith of our local churches growing stronger. But we must see our personal faith develop into one that relies on God, trusts in God and walks by faith with God. I feel that we must pay even closer attention to the "Good News about Christ." We must develop a spiritual discipline that leads us to read, study and put into practice the Word of God in our lives. We can not afford for our faith to capitulate to the pressures of this world that is seeking to destroy our personal walk with Christ. We are called to be overcomers and not to be the ones that are overcome.