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"And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again." Deuteronomy 6:5-7 A Life of Faith “May God bless you with his special favor and wonderful peace as you come to know Jesus, our God and Lord, better and better. As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature. So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your life. Then your faith will produce a life of moral excellence. A life of moral excellence leads to knowing God better. Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness. Godliness leads to love for other Christians, and finally you will grow to have genuine love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:2-8 We live in a society that demands instant results. We don’t want to wait for the headlines to come out in tomorrow’s paper, we want 24 hour news. We don’t want to get the bowl and pour cereal (instant already) and milk into it. Now we have breakfast bars with the cereal and milk already mixed, just eat it on your way to work. I thought Instant pudding (takes 5 minutes) was cool, but now we have Pudding in a cup. No mix, no wait. Unfortunately, too often we also want to have instant spiritual growth. Pop me into the church microwave and in 10 minutes I come out as a spiritual giant. However, it doesn’t work that way. Peter in his message to us says that the relationship we have with Jesus is a process. When we begin to apply his promises in our life then our faith grows and that leads to moral excellence. As that grows, it leads to a greater knowledge of God which then leads to self-control and so on and so on. Ultimately we grow to “have genuine love for everyone.” This process takes years and even a lifetime to go through. It is not something that happens overnight or as a result of one Bible study or class. Although God has provided everything we need “for living a godly life,” discovering all those blessings and their benefits in our life takes time and as Peter says even a little “effort.” So, where does it start? It starts with faith. Now faith is a word we are all familiar with if we have ever spent any time in a church service. Faith is the foundation of our relationship with God. Without faith, there is no Christianity. Why? Because none of us have seen Jesus with our eyes, or touched him in the flesh. We did not see him die on the cross or witness his presence after he rose from the dead. All of this we take on faith because faith, at its most basic level, is believing in something we haven’t seen. The writer of Hebrews says, “What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.” (Hebrews 11:1) However, faith is more than just believing the facts about some issue. There are a lot of people out there who say they believe in God. However, just believing that God exists is not what true faith is all about. James says even the demons believe in God (James2:19). But, their belief does not cause them to serve or worship Him. Belief says “I have an intellectual understanding of something.” Faith says “I believe in something so much that I will allow it to change my life.” Peter himself is a good illustration of faith in Matthew 14. When Jesus came walking to his disciples on the water, they were all afraid at first. When Jesus assured them that it was Him, I’m sure they believed him. Who else would it have been? However, Peter went a step further in his belief. He said, “Lord, if it's really you, tell me to come to you by walking on water.” Jesus told him, “Come on out of the boat.” And the great thing is, Peter’s faith caused him to get out of the boat and begin to walk on water. None of the other disciple were willing to do that. They may have had a belief it was Jesus, but they didn’t have faith. Faith causes you to do things you never thought possible. Faith says to a mountain, get up and move out of the way and watches as it moves (Matt. 17:20). So, how strong is your faith today? Where are you in the process of your relationship with Jesus? Are you sitting in the boat? Do you have a belief in God but don’t allow it to change who you are? Or are you stepping out and letting your faith lead you in making changes in your life. Let your faith be more than just a belief, let it be an attitude that prompts you to walk closer with God. “The more you grow like this, the more you will become productive and useful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The mission of the YMCA is “To put Christian
principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit,
mind, and body, for all.” In keeping with that mission, the YMCA of
greater Des Moines provides caring support to YMCA volunteers,
members and staff, especially in times of crisis, through the YMCA
Chaplain. The Chaplain program is a non denominational care-giving
ministry that aids and sustains people with Christian concern,
friendship, suggestions and referral to other supportive
organizations when needed.
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LINKS
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YMCA CARING SUPPORT
