Faith's Kingdom

What can compare to the Kingdom of God? 

What is there out there that even comes close to the majesty of His wonders.  Nothing on the Earth can compare, but it is close and that is enough for me to believe and realize the Kingdom and the Majesty of our God is in itself a wonder…because most people have never seen it…but it is there, I have seen it.

You must have faith in your God.  With all the bad out there, with all the distractions that tear us away from the fabric of our faith…you must remain strong…you must stay focused…or you will lose your way in the meaningless details of a distracted and ill-focused life.

Faith you say…what has faith done for me you may ask.  Well sir that depends on if you ever had it to begin with.  Having faith in God is like having all your money in the bank…you can’t see it, but you know it’s there.  You can draw on it whenever you want, you can check your balance and make a deposit, but you never see all those green-backs…but you have faith the bank has your money and is taking care of it.  You have faith that it is there, but you never see it. 

What is that you say…that when you check your balance you can see it.  Well I guess it is a piece of paper with some numbers on it.  Isn’t that the same as your Bible?  It’s a bunch of pieces of paper with not just numbers but words, stories, prophesy, facts, history…the Word is God’s receipt to us.

But with my bank account I can make deposits and take out withdrawals, what does faith have to compare to me being able to manipulate my account at my will, you may ask.  The times in your life when your faith ebbed and flowed from weak to strong, was when you were manipulating your faith.  You must remember that you were given free will to make your decisions.  We are all born with the memories of the paradise the after- life offers.  But in short order, when reality smacks you in the butt, those memories fade and you must rely on your faith to guide your decisions. 

Why do you think every baby born cries at birth?   They’re trying to tell us something…they’re trying to tell us…"Why did you take me from paradise only to deliver me to this wretched place."  But in short order we are comforted and loved and we develop into the person we are today…with or without faith…that is your choice, but I can tell you life is much better with faith in God, then not.   

It’s like your bank account….you feel better when you have $1,000 in there instead of $1.

My faith is strong today…perhaps stronger than it has ever been in my life and it has nothing to do with my bank account.  It has everything to do with not only my faith in God and our Savior Jesus Christ, but in my fellow man as well.  When you see the good in man-kind it increases your faith…when we constantly see the bad side of man-kind, it can weaken our faith…if we let it. 

The devil is crafty; he works within the confines of this world to distract you from your faith.  Many years ago he realized he couldn’t tear us away from our faith in God…but he could erode the faith we have in ourselves.  By dividing our country, by influencing the weak or absent of faith to do horrendous acts, he hopes to chip away at our faith in each other and ultimately crumble our faith in God.

Hold to your faith and if you ever need to strengthen it, just talk to Him about it.  Lay your worries at the feet of God thru His Son and He will clear the distractions and help you increase your faith.  My faith in God is solid and unwavering, my faith in my fellow man…not so much.

But then I ask myself…how can I expect the weak or absent of faith to in any way help strengthen my own faith?  I do not…on the contrary I look to the faithful to strengthen my faith…and the faithful are many and strong.  What compares to the Kingdom of God?  Nothing on this Earth…except your faith.

Here are two examples of my faith in God and man-kind:

Yesterday I stopped for gas at the local QT.  My life is at a cross-roads.  I have many questions and concerns, distractions that sway me from my faith.  But I recognize them and have faith in God my questions will be answered and my concerns will subside.  As evidence of what God can do for His faithful…I’m pumping gas and I am distracted with concerns over my future…I look to my right and in the bin holding credit card applications there is a Gideon’s Bible…you know the small ones with the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.  I take it out and like always I just open it and start reading wherever it opened to…and the Lord delivered exactly what I needed to hear. 

Second Timothy Chapter Two…I read the entire chapter while my gas pumped.  Verses 11-13 stand out…here they are:  11) “Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; 12) If we endure, we will also reign with him.  If we disown him, he will also disown us; 13) If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.”  Wow, that reached out and grabbed me and chased the distractions of this world away from me. 

That is how true faith in your God works….you want to see a sign to strengthen your faith…just look around and keep your ears open…the signs are everywhere if in faith you walk your life’s path.

The second example was just this morning.  It strengthened my belief in my fellow man.  I woke up and logged on to the internet and the main page of my browser came up and I have it selected for a news feed.  Anyway, you know I like to use emoji’s in my texts and Facebook posts and comments and there was one at the very bottom of the page…there’s never been one there before, at least that I recognized.  But there it was the rainbow emoji with a quote from Dolly Parton that was something like “You have to endure the rain, before you see the rainbow.”  That spoke to me, especially on a weekend like this where we may question our faith as we see Mother Earth’s destruction along our North and South Carolina coasts.  But it wasn’t just her random quote that encouraged my faith in man-kind.

Dolly is a wonderful charitable person. She has done more for the cause of children’s literacy than any one individual could possibly accomplish.  Check out what Dolly Parton has done for children’s libraries, what she’s done to get books in the hands of the less fortunate and your faith in man-kind will increase as well.  She is an amazing talent with an amazing spirit.  Thank you Dolly…continued blessings.

As I sit here and listen to the “Deep End” on WXRC 95.7 FM this morning I am encouraged by the music I hear.  "Crystal Blue Persuasion" is playing and the message the music sends me is one of faith, knowing there are others out there that have it strengthens my own faith. 

As I grow older in this life I turn the TV off and the radio on.  For to me today, the music I listen to is better for my faith than the distractions I see on the boob-tube.

These were just two examples of my faith being strengthened by a loving and teaching God and a loving and charitable individual.  But there are so many more examples out there…so many things I see and hear that only amplify my faith…and it can be the same for you too.

We were created in God’s image and the Bible tells us “we can do all things thru Christ who strengthens us.” 

The powers of Christ are in all of us.  We all have the power to heal others…isn’t that what you do when you show compassion and dry a watery eye?  Of course it is, maybe not as dramatic, but thru faith who knows what you can accomplish.  You are the only thing holding you back…let your faith drive your life and you will see the majesties and wonders of a living God before your very eyes.   

Yours in the Faith of God and Man.   BAS 9/15/2018  8:17 AM EST