Have A Little Faith

It is a book title, a song, a statement from a friend, and a feeling we wish we had. Have a little faith….easier said than done but it CAN be done; can’t it?

“So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while… “He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” Hebrews 10:35-39

Yes…easier said than done. I know what I need to do and I know what God expects of me. I don’t want to be one “who shrinks back and is destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.” I was saved and know that I will be “richly rewarded.” I know I “need to persevere so that when I have done the will of God, I will receive what he has promised.” But, just like I knew to right from wrong and made the wrong decisions anyway; because they were easier or more fun…I find myself wondering if wanting to have faith is enough. I know it isn’t.

I have faith most of the time and am full of faith when speaking to others; except Lynnette. She knows my wavering even before I utter a sound…just as Jesus does. He knows my heart. He knows that I want to be the most faithful of his servants and I KNOW that he always comes through. Just from the sheer fact of all that he has gotten us through in the past year alone. I didn’t know the ending in any of those scenarios and yet they always came through for his purpose. My knowing the outcome was not even an option. When I try to get it out of him over coffee, he just leans forward in his chair and looks at me over his cup with a smile; “You’ll see. I promise you it will be great even if you don’t understand it straight away.”

James was the half brother to Jesus and was a skeptic his entire life; not becoming a believer or follower of Jesus until after he died was resurrected. Boy…did he have some advice to share after that realization. He knew that it was easy to say one thing and act in an entirely different manner and tackled the issues in his letter to the followers of Jesus; challenging his readers to examine both their beliefs and their actions. He goes beyond telling them what a Christian should do, however. Instead he shows them, illustrating with verbal pictures and vivid details, what a life transformed by Jesus looks like because it was a transformation he knew firsthand…after the fact.

The book of James is often categorized as wisdom literature – the “Proverbs” of the New Testament. His advice is extremely practical. It’s the kind of teaching we can read and then clearly (or not so clearly) see how it should play out in our own lives. But, it is also difficult. Knowing what to do and doing it are two different things, and James clearly understands that.

I grew up comparing myself to everyone; my mom and sisters, friends and schoolmates; coworkers and neighbors, and even women at my church when I got the guts to get into a bible study. I saw something in all of them I wanted; sometimes good and sometimes not so good. I was always imagining that someone had it better or easier than I did and even though it may not have been the case, I wondered what they had done to deserve such favor.

Can you imagine how it must have been to be the brother of Jesus? How about not being a follower or believer of him until he had already been put to death on a cross and raised from the dead…? I can think of many instances that I figured something out…but a little too late. I even thought that finding the relationship with Jesus came too late but then I realized you can’t be too late, too old, or too bad and I am thankful to have transformed my life and offer what advice I can to others; even if it is not advice but simply being transparent in my life and the relationship I have with Jesus; which leads me to the topic of faith and being honest about where I am in my life and walk with him now.

I have faith. I do. Really.

I know there is no situation that I have gone through, am going through now, or will go through…that Jesus won’t be by my side. He has proven that time and again in the past year, and more especially, in the past six months.

However, in reading James, I am reminded:

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:13-16

“My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover a multitude of sins.”  James 5:19-20

He is asking if anyone is in trouble or happy or sick or has sinned or wandered from the truth. How would we know if any of our friends were going through this if they did not confess their sins to each other and ask for prayer from each other?

I have been home for nearly two weeks after being in California for six months. All of my friends are happy for me to be back and glad for my family and being reunited with my husband. They have breathed a sigh of relief for me to be able to begin anew and have a fresh start and are glad to see what Jesus has brought me through and to be a part of it.

But…

What they do not know is everything that He continues to get me through and why I am now trying not just say have faith; but truly practice it and live it in “real life.”

No, I am not sick or in trouble; I haven’t wandered from the truth and I haven’t sinned…. and I am very happy. But… things aren’t the peachy life that people may think we have. Despite that; I say again as I have in past entries….Jesus never said it would be easy but he did promise he would never leave us.

That being said; I begin my confession of what we need prayer for and reminders to live in faith because …. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

My husband has been married four times before me and his most recent ex-wife took him to court last week and wants him to settle a very large tax debt on his own and pay her back more than a little bit; that the government took from her tax return. They go back to court in March and if things are not settled or agreed upon in some way, he will be charged in contempt of court and we must pray for lenience from the judge to be penalized and not jailed.

My husband worked for Chrysler for 20 years and was part of the fallout that ensued in economic unrest. He was unemployed for 17months before moving to Plymouth, MI and found a contract position within a week. It was to be a two year assignment but lasted only three months. He was then out of work just a week before getting the assignment he is currently working at; we were thankful. It was a six month contract position that we had hoped would turn into a permanent offer but that was not to be the case. His contract ends on the 21^st of this month. He has spoken to his supervisor and the contractor that placed him there, and neither has given any indication that his contract will be extended after that date. They gave the standard “We know this isn’t what you wanted to hear but we have no real answer for you at this point and we will let you know as soon as we can; hopefully before that date is up.”

I have been collecting unemployment for just over a year and the benefits are due to expire on the 29^th of this month, with the government undecided as to whether or not it will help the millions of unemployed throughout our nation. Each day I pray and then seek out any news on the yo-yo political decisions that are being made on my behalf.

My youngest daughter bought a used car and has only been driving it about two weeks. When my husband went to look at it the first time; he went to a house that was in complete disarray, the man selling it newly divorced and in the process of having his house foreclosed on. We agreed to purchase and went back the following week…the house now empty aside from a few personal items that remained but packed up quickly. He is now nowhere to be found and not answering his phone…conveniently as the car is experiencing serious overheating issues that we are now having to deal with in order to allow my daughter to get to her job so she can move into a place of her own by February.

My middle daughter was to be coming home for Christmas after nearly two years of being distant but is having car troubles of her own that make it impossible and unsafe for her travel the nine hours from Wisconsin to Michigan. She is having struggles of her own financially but we are doing what we can to help her.

My oldest daughter is getting married in May and has still not reached out to invite us to the wedding and has had my friend request awaiting confirmation since August.

Okay…. I think that about covers it.

Yes, I am home and happy to be here. I have much going on in my life and I know that He is with me. I have faith but am I living faithfully?

I have to be honest and say not as faithfully as I need to be. But as I went to my concordance and bible today to look for answers and messages to “get my spiritual mojo back” I found it quickly by none other than Paul; my fave apostle.

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which, I, Paul, have become a servant.”  Colossians 2:21-23

How can I not only have faith, but live faithfully, when Paul says simply:

“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17

Enough said!!

If I could wink, I would…and say simply in return:

“Thanks Paul. I knew you would snap me out of it. Ciao for now.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAWhSIH2d5c