Monday, January 4, 2010

Living Faith

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT

Do you wear your faith on your sleeve? Or do you hide and bring it out when it is beneficial to you?

In this day and age it seems that it's not 'cool' to be a believer. It seems as if it's something to be ashamed of. It's something--that if it is offensive to someone else--our right of Christian freedom is taken away.

Yesterday, watching one of the football games--I was encouraged. First of all, I'm not a major football fan. I hardly know any of the major teams, let alone the college teams. But all the men in my family was watching one of the games--the Gators and Wildcats. That's when it happened. I noticed that the quarterback for the Gators had something printed in the black paint under his eyes. I looked closer--it said Ephesians 2, under one eye--8-10 under the other. I thought, WOW! I didn't know what the score was, but I hoped his team would win because he was showing his faith for ALL to see. His name was TEBOW--it was right there on the back of his shirt.

And then they did win! When the camera was on him and the reporter asked him to comment, he said first and foremost, he gave all the praise to his heavenly Father. Then he went on to thank his team and coach. What a witness! When he praised his heavenly Father, the crowd just stood up and roared--it was AWESOME. It gave me spiritual goosebumps. This was all done on national television. God is still in control!

So, if you ever feel discouraged for all the ungodliness in this world--look up! God has these little gems of hope and encouragement everywhere. It could be in the brilliance of the setting sun, the cry of a newborn baby, the unexpected phone call from someone special or the gentle movement of a breeze.

God choose you long before you choose Him. It wasn't something you could have bought, bartered or worked for. Salvation was a gift that you just had to want bad enough to ask your heavenly Father for. The gift was always there. You have to be emotionally and spiritually ready to open and receive it.

So go ahead--wear your faith on your sleeve, your shirt, or in some cases, your face. Just make sure that you are truly wearing it where it matters most--in your heart.

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