The Gift of Faith

SarahJane · Alley Cat Joined: 20 Nov 2005 Posts: 177

Faith is not a choice that we make it's a gift that we are given. I can't chose faith I can only chose actions that are in line with what I believe is right from wrong and even without my faith I could still make the same choices.

I think that we have all of this petty bickering over things that are not even relevant to faith because we are confusing the gift that we were given with our beliefs. We all see ourselves as the guardians of Truth and for a variety of reasons we feel like we must present our version of truth until everyone else either shuts up or agrees with us.

Faith doesn't depend on anything else it just is. One person might be capable of changing my mind about one topic or another but they can't take away the faith that I have. I never made an active choice to have faith it was given to me. I made an active choice to pursue it but without that gift my pursuit of faith would have been worthless.

Some Christians toss out the idea that this ideology or that ideology is truth, some non-christians toss out their version of truth and both sides see the other as being blind or foolish.

Faith is based in knowledge for many of us but it's a different kind of knowledge. It doesn't depend on what we know or do not know in any other areas and once we have the gift of faith with us there is nothing that will shake it. For someone who has not been given the gift of faith nothing will convince them except the gift of faith and that will not be given unless the person wants it.

We cannot expect them to see the truth in what we know if we can't be strong enough in our faith to quit sweating the small stuff. Science isn't scary and it isn't capable of destroying the gift of faith that we have been given. If it interests a person they should seek to learn as much as possible. It will not undo what you know is true.

Proverbs 3:

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

Trust in the LORD with your heart and lean not on your own understanding. That isn't the same thing at all as saying that you can't have any scientific understanding just don't lean on human understanding, lean on the gift of faith that you have been given.
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Malawk · Ferret Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 123

You are right that faith is a gift. However it is a living gift not a dead gift. Any gift that is given that is alive must be maintained or it will die. Just like getting a puppy as a gift it cost you nothing to get it but to keep it alive will take effort and cost. Faith is no different. The Scriptures in 2 Corinthians 13 tells us to test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. If we pass the test we are in the faith if we faith we are not in the faith. Faith is best understood as having 3 parts. The first part of faith is accepting that Jesus Christ was born in the flesh of the Virgin Mary. If you do not believe this you will never have faith in the Living God. The 3rd part is to believe Jesus died on the Cross was buried and rose from the death and is the first of the resurrection. Again if you do not believe this you will never have faith in the living God. The 2nd part is the largest and most difficult. That is we have to believe everything Jesus believed. We will not understand everything Jesus believed but we have to accept it. Maturing in our faith is when we grow in understanding what Jesus believed. Jesus believed everything in the bible and understood what it meant and means. We have to believe everything in the bible even though we will never understand everything in the bible. Smile

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RevJP · Moderator Joined: 18 Apr 2003 Posts: 7003 Location: USA

For the most part SJ, I agree. This quote however:

tradcat · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:02 pm Post subject: Faith is a gift

I agree with you. Faith is a supernatural gift from God.

He does not grant his gift to everyone.

To have the true faith, one must believe wholly and entirely in what the Catholic Church teaches. There is only one true faith.

Our Lord himself warned against false prophets. "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them" (Matt VI: 15,16)

In today's world, man seeks his own desires and pleasures. Man has forgotten that we have been created to know, love and serve God with our whole heart, mind and soul.

The only way to salvation is through the Catholic Church. It is not enough to pick and choose which doctrines we are going to believe in and which ones we are not going to believe in.

Protestantism started with Luther who sinned out of intellectual pride. He took it upon himself to start a new theory. That is contrary to what Christ taught.

Faith, is a gift, and it is as precious as our soul. Our soul's eternal happiness depends on our faith. If we choose Christ, we must choose the Church that He instituted. Not some church started by man.

Jesus is God, he worked miracles and by these miracles bought faith to many. Faith is something that we must not take lightly. We have one soul to save. Then it is either Heaven or Hell for all eternity.

golfjack · Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:30 pm Post subject: reply

Tradcat, The last time I checked my Bible, it says there is only one way to be saved, and that is through Jesus Christ. He is the truth, way, and life. You have been misled by your Church for so long that the enemy has you into bondage.

May God bless, golfjack

tradcat · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 10:47 pm Post subject: Re: reply

admin · Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2005 11:03 pm Post subject:

I don't see it, so you can pray for my ignorance.

Very true, the Lutheran church does not have as many relics as the Catholic church. In fact, Martin Luther once commented that in his travels he saw so many different Catholic churches displaying the nails of Christs' cross, that their were probably enough nails to hoove an entire army.

Yes, please pray for me.
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FFT · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 2:30 am Post subject: Re: reply

Nobby · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:20 am Post subject:

Amen!! FFT!! Very Happy

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golfjack · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 10:51 am Post subject: reply

FFT and NOBBY, I second that AMEN!!!!!!!!!

May God bless, golfjack

lone-traveler · Posted: Sat Dec 17, 2005 1:37 pm Post subject:

I believe that ALL churches are manmade.

EXCEPT Christ's Church.

It is a Church built on truth, faith, hope, and Love. And everyone who believes in Him is a member of His Church.

This Church is not seen with eyes or heard with ears of flesh. It Is God's Spirit that calls to those members that are added to it. It's building is not built with hands, and it is built up one person at a time.
It's foundation is built on the Rock of our Saviour. The Word of Truth where those who were in darkness now reside in the Light of truth.

It is scattered around the world awaiting the spirit to gather itself together.
Each living stone which Christ's church is built up with, is saught after and found, cleaned, refined, polished, and set in a place that the Lord chooses.

Christ's church is not located on a hill or in a city square. It's not located on a rocky road or a winding path.
Christ's church is located in the people who reside on the hill, or who live in the city square. It is in the one who walks the rocky road and travels the winding path.

Christ's church is not stationary. It is ever flowing and ever seeking those whom are lost. It knocks on doors and sheds light where there is darkness.

This is Christ's church, and I am blessed to be apart of it.
Will you listen for the knock and open the door when Christ calls for you?
It is not a church weighed down by heavy burdens. His burdens are light and easy to bear.
He loves you as an individual. He cares for you as his own precious child.
And he will never leave you, nor forsake you.

The church is all around you, all you need do is open your eyes and see, and open your ears and hear.
It's not a clanging bell, or a loud trumpet roaring. It is quiet and soft spoken. Come all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him, born the King of angels;

Refrain
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.

True God of true God, Light from Light Eternal,
Lo, He shuns not the Virgin’s womb;
Son of the Father, begotten, not created;

Refrain

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation;
O sing, all ye citizens of heaven above!
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

Refrain

See how the shepherds, summoned to His cradle,
Leaving their flocks, draw nigh to gaze;
We too will thither bend our joyful footsteps;

Refrain

Lo! star led chieftains, Magi, Christ adoring,
Offer Him incense, gold, and myrrh;
We to the Christ Child bring our hearts’ oblations.

Refrain

Child, for us sinners poor and in the manger,
We would embrace Thee, with love and awe;
Who would not love Thee, loving us so dearly?

Refrain

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning;
Jesus, to Thee be glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.

Refrain

AMEN!!
Lone
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thunder · Lion King Joined: 13 Sep 2003 Posts: 1222

I don't recall Jesus wearing or instructing His apostles to wear the clown outfit complete with conehead hat, expensive clothing, jewelry, gold, etc., etc. and instead told His ministers to travel with no money while the catholic church and papal ministry is a multi-billion dollar business.

Can you imagine the carpenters son wearing such garb? without a penny in his pocket? ministering at such a pulpit?

thunder
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Steffuller · Tadpole Joined: 26 Sep 2003 Posts: 25 Location: MA, USA

Ok I am a Catholic and need to add my thoughts.

First I need to state I was born and raised a Catholic went my own way and became a Baptist, attended a Lutheran Church and now I am back in the Catholic Church.

I am disabled and get to watch a lot of TV and I see a lot of the History Channel programs on the bible. I also have spoken to a lot of Jewish people and read some of the Torah.

I honestly believe that the Catholic Church was the first church and all other derive from it. Now this is were man comes in, even with the Catholic Church. All men are fallible. No one but Jesus was perfect. So all churches are ruled by man who is fallible. A man takes the word of God and interprets it then tells the Church or faith what to believe.

Everyone can read the same verse in the bible and interpret it in their own way and you will find that many will come up with different interpretations.

In my thinking that is what happens with ALL churches and faiths including my Catholic church.

So in my way of thinking no one church or faith is totally right. They all have good and bad right and wrong and only God knows how to sort it all out.

No one has the right but God to say for sure what is totally right, so I feel we all need to be tolerant to others faiths.

I am Catholic but there is a lot I just do not buy.

I may be way off but my thinking is that God loved me so much he gave me free will so I try to pick out the good in all faiths and through out the bad, and when I see God he will tell me were I went right and wrong.

Oh and just to comment of the person that said the Catholic church is a business you are right but so are all the others if you really look at them.

Prime example is the Baptist Church I use to go to the Pastor owned his own house and new cars and dressed very well in Armani, the only job he or his wife had was his church. Now I ask you if his church was not a business how did he live so well?

So it is not just Catholics that that do not live and preach in total poverty.
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dpainter · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:58 am Post subject: Re: reply

dpainter · Posted: Thu Dec 29, 2005 4:28 am Post subject:

Steffuller
Love what you had to say. Like when somone is honest and truthful. God is the final judge, and when we post here we should put our physical (man made) churches aside and just post within the Spiritual Church.
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John 5:39You diligently study[a] the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.