Philemon 1:6-7 struck me today.
6.I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.
Our faith needs to starts with the understanding and knowledge of God's word. That doesn't mean having a seminary degree and being able to answer every biblical question and spew out verses and references like a concordance, but you CAN'T have faith in something you don't know and you can't know if you aren't taking the time to read God's word and pray in order to gain understanding. Whatever our level of faith is we are reminded by Paul that our faith (whatever level that is for you) needs to be active. Faith can't remain a knowledge you have gained or mere words on the pages of your bible. Faith, our knowledge and understanding of and in God's word, needs to be exercised and lived out in each and every circumstance of each and every day. When we live actively in our faith the truths of God's word are made stronger, are seen, are felt in us. When going to the gym, results, physical strength and sculpting of ones body are not seen or achieved in a matter of days but over time with much active effort. The same is truth with our faith. Being active means practicing even when it may seem challenging, even when our faith may seem contrary to the circumstances, and even when we may not feel like it. Being active means to live, to speak, to display, to act in each moment according to the scriptural knowledge and understanding that built our faith and to do so despite the circumstances we are in. Like the gym, when we remain active in our faith we begin to see and feel a change in our lives and it should move us to dig deeper into God's word and to seek to expand our faith more and more so that we can be even more active in it - living, speaking, displaying our constantly growing faith.
The benefits of living in active faith are two-fold. First, there is a benefit to us. Paul tells Philemon that living in active faith will give us a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ, thus growing our faith even more. God's promises and truths are tested over time and through every situation, in the good and the bad, in the easy and the difficult, in the joyful and the painful ones we can know the full goodness of God if we choose to live through those moments in the faith we have and in the hopes that our faith will be strengthened and grow in the process. Second, there is a benefit to others. Philemon's active faith was a source of joy and encouragement to Paul and it refreshed the hearts of other believers. People who actively live in faith stand out to others. I can think of several examples of people in my life who live active faith in any and all circumstances and I am awed by them, encouraged by them and honestly a bit envious of them. We don't need to envy active faith, we need to live our own active faith so that our lives can refresh hearts and bring joy and encouragement to others. Active faith builds the faith of both us and others, it refreshes both us and others, it encourages both us and others - it is a win win state of living.
Life is full of struggles and challenges as well as smooth and easy times. Our faith can and needs to be active in both. It is often the more challenging times that our active faith is more needed and most easily seen. Don't be discouraged in your faith when life gets challenging because that is when active faith is truly needed more than ever.
A Philemon Prayer (Philemon 1:4-7)
Lord, I thank you for the faith you have given to me and especially the faith you have given to others. Lord we need to constantly spend time in your word getting to know you and see you and hope in you so that we can have faith that we can actively live in. May your grace strengthen us to live our faith in any and all situations. May your spirit remind us of truths and lift us up when the weight of life seem heavier than our faith can handle. May our active faith lead us to have a full understanding of every good thing we have in you, in you Lord not earthly temporary things but every good thing we have in you. Grow our faith Lord, deepen it, renew it, refresh it, sustain it, increase it so we may encourage and refresh the hearts of others and encourage them to have their own faith that they can actively live out. Thank you for the gift of faith and the opportunity we have to practice it in our lives.
AMEN
A Prayer Of Gratitude For People of Faith. (Philemon 1:4-7)
Lord I do not thank you often enough for the people of faith you have put in my life and even for those I merely hear about but never have the fortune of meeting. Today I want to thank you for these people. Like me they are not perfect people, they have struggles and shortcomings, but they seek to recognize their weaknesses and in faith and with your grace they live to serve you. My life has been blessed in so many ways and my own faith has grown as a result of this community of the faithful. Lord I ask for your spirit to encourage all the faithful around the world, both those I know and those I have yet to meet. Please encourage us all, as Paul encouraged Philemon, to be active in sharing our faith, living it out in our daily lives with trust and confidence as well as using words to proclaim it. Reminds us Lord that when we are active in sharing our faith then we will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in you, Christ Jesus. How encouraged I am today to actively share my faith with the full knowledge that it can not just bless others but it can strengthen my own faith in the process. Thank you again Lord for the joy, encouragement, and refreshed heart I have and continue to receive from those who are faithful to you. I am truly blessed.
AMEN
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