About a Joy: SHARING MY FAITH

What is FAITH?

According to Google, faith is putting complete trust in someone or something.

I'm guessing that definition satisfies the curiosity of most. But if you'll take a moment to delve into the definition provided in God's word, perhaps you'll feel compelled to allow God's definition to reshape your concept faith.

The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd.

Hebrews 11:1 (MSG)

The act of faith.

If I allowed Google to define my faith, I'd simply be stating "I put complete trust in God". This is a good definition to be sure. I actually do put my complete trust in God. But why?

Herein lies the answer to that question. The answer is:

The Gospel: Good News. The reason I put my complete trust in God.

The apostle Paul gave an excellent summary of this good news in 1st Corinthians 15.

Now brothers, I want to clarify[a] for you the gospel I proclaimed to you; you received it and have taken your stand on it. 2 You are also saved by it, if you hold to the message I proclaimed to you—unless you believed for no purpose.[b] 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received:

that Christ died for our sins

according to the Scriptures,

4
that He was buried,

that He was raised on the third day

according to the Scriptures,
5
and that He appeared to Cephas,

then to the Twelve.
6
Then He appeared to over 500 brothers at one time;

most of them are still alive,

but some have fallen asleep.
7
Then He appeared to James,

then to all the apostles.
8
Last of all, as to one abnormally born,[c]

He also appeared to me.

Faith is the action of living out your confidence in this good news. Understanding as fact that the invisible God was made known in Jesus.

Sharing my faith is important to me. When I was just a wee little sprite of about 6 years old, my gentle mama set me down on the couch one evening to tell me about a man named Jesus who died for my sins. I very clearly remember my little heart breaking and being mortified (an ultimately grateful) that my sin could cause someone to be willing to do this for me. I burst into tears and told my mom that I wanted to invite Jesus into my heart and make Him Lord of my life. From that day on I cared about God being involved in my life every day, though there were times I preferred that He not pay so much attention to what I was up to...
All that said, below, I have listed links to several blog posts that I have written that have incorporated stories of God's involvement in my life along the way. I hope they bring encouragement.