Hebrews 11 is often called the faith chapter. We are going to work, as a family, toward memorizing it in its entirety over the next few weeks. Many examples of regular folks with big faith are described in detail. Because their stories are so inspiring, I’ve always cringed to hear people say that our family’s journey to Colorado is a step of faith or leap of faith. However, in recent personal study of verses about faith, I’ve come to realize how varied the faith examples in His Word are and how that is exactly what He has and continues to strengthen in us. Verse 1 says that “Faith is confidence, or assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.
Obviously, huge faith is required for salvation because we must hope for Heaven and believe without seeing Jesus with our own eyes. 1 Corinthians 1:18 says, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” or, as The Message Bible puts it, “The Message that points to Christ on the Cross seems like sheer silliness to those hellbent on destruction, but for those on the way of salvation it makes perfect sense”. We are here on Colorado Springs to learn all we can from more seasoned pastors, missionaries, and church planters and to study deeply what the Bible says about the church, ministry, and discipleship. The cross is foolishness to many here still, but the power of the cross is real in our lives and we want to share our salvation stories, His love and kindness, and the truth of His Word with as many as we can, while learning how to focus in and truly disciple small groups of people as well.
Our journey is one of great faith, believing God has a perfect plan for what we can’t see…being certain He will bring people to Himself and allow us to be a small part of it, believing He will place other believers in our path who will join us in the next year or two or three (short term and long term) to help us equip the saints for ministry and disciple and “do life with” new believers, assured He has a perfect plan for the sale of our house in Demopolis and sure He will continue to provide for our needs through His people, a job for Eric, or both! The greatest part is that ALL things done in faith, no matter how big or small, point to Him and bring Him glory, rather than ourselves. We heard it said recently, at one of our learning intensives, that we must be alert and careful, daily in self-reflection and prayer, or we can accidentally rob the cross of its power and draw people to ourselves and our church, rather than to God. Join us in praying for humility and intentionality. Pray we will live every day in faith and be bold witnesses. May our lives, words, and actions…everything we do…always point to Him and bring Him glory!
We would be lying if we didn’t say there are tough times, trying days, but God is giving us a perfect measure of strength and grace for each day as it comes. Sometimes, I still can’t believe we are here and this journey is real, but the relationships we are building with lost people and the daily training and learning we are privileged to be part of is continually confirming the great need for life changing, powerful, redemptive salvation here and our specific calling to come to Colorado and make disciples!
Inside our cells we have a DNA code millions of characters long but only made of 4 molecules arranged in such a way to create the exact definition on a cellular level of a singular individual. The specific language in a cell is important because one misplaced molecule could be detrimental to the whole individual. Likewise in the Body of Christ we must define our terms carefully and allow them guide us toward a healthy organization, the Church.