[Faith-talk] FW: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] How strong is your faith? by Joyce Meyer

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: Donna Kiser <kiserdonna5 at gmail.com>
To: URCTCPrayerGroup2 at yahoogroups.com
Subject: [URCTCPrayerGroup2] How strong is your faith? by Joyce Meyer
Date: 
Sun, 28 Aug 2011 08:01:24 -0400

How Strong Is Your Faith? by Joyce Meyer Do you have faith? You may not
think you do, or you may feel like your faith is weak and puny. But
consider
this: Have you ever flown on an airplane without meeting the pilot? Have
you
ever eaten a meal without knowing who cooked it?



The Faith You Already Have

As Christians, we all have faith to some degree. The Bible says in
Romans 12<http://www.youversion.com/bible/amp/rom/12/1>that each of us
is given "a measure of faith." We operate in faith all the
time and don't even think about it.

For example, some of you reading this article have teenagers you send off
to
school every day. That requires some faith. And we all need a little
faith
every time we drive in traffic.

Even if you don't feel like a spiritual giant of faith, you can take hope
in
God's Word that says that as a believer, you have a measure of faith
planted
inside you. <http://www.youversion.com/bible/amp/rom/12/3>
Is Your Faith All Talk?

Some of you might say, "Well, I have faith. I believe in Jesus." Frankly,
it's one thing to say you have faith, but it's an entirely different
matter
to apply your faith to life's challenges.

When the storms of life come (and they do for all of us), do you stay
calm,
cool and collected? Or do you allow fear to overpower your faith? Do you
give the situation completely over to God, or do you try to figure
everything out?
Stuff Happens

It's easy for us to feel like we've got great faith when things go well
or
play out like we want them to. And it's easy for us to have faith when
something new comes along and life is exciting.

But stuff happens. And when stuff happens, how does your faith respond?
"We operate in faith all the time and don't even think about it."

I'm not just referring to big dramatic events that take place...I'm also
referring to the little things that pop up and can easily sidetrack you.

For example, recently I was at a conference, and I had a Starbucks coffee
waiting for me after one of the sessions. I absolutely love Starbucks
coffee. And the coffee was inside one of these big, double-walled
Starbucks
mugs that keep your coffee warm for a long time. The mug is a copper
color,
and I really love to use it when I drink coffee.

Anyhow, after the session I went back to drink the coffee, and somebody
had
stolen it! The mug, even the creamer...everything was gone.

You see, stuff is going to happen. And years ago I would have thrown a
fit
if that had happened. I would have cried, "Oh God, why does this stuff
happen to me? The devil is always picking on me! It's not fair!"

But I kept the faith and decided that the whole incident was actually
quite
hilarious. And then I started thinking, Well, somebody might have been
cleaning up and thought they were doing something good. You see, I
practiced
something else the Bible tells us to do: to think the best of people.
That
also requires faith.
 How to Release Faith

Faith is something that must be released. You can possess faith, but you
must put it to use. A muscle that is not used gets weak and shrivels up.
If
you don't use your faith, then it's no different than not having any.

When you sit down in a chair, you have faith that it's not going to
collapse. You don't start sweating and trembling with fear saying, "Oh,
I'm
afraid to sit in this chair. I don't know if I should be doing this!"
It's a
silly illustration to make the point: You just go plop down in the chair
because you do have a measure of faith.

But what about when you have a problem? Do you go plop down in the arms
of
Jesus and say, "I'm asking You to take care of this and I believe You
will."


Do you release your faith through prayer, line up what you speak with
God's
promises, and do whatever He asks you to do without trying to figure
things
out? Now that's the way to release your faith!

Give your circumstance over to Jesus and be confident that He's got it
all
under control. Your life will change dramatically once you unleash your
faith. Don't just have it in your heart-let it out, put it to the test and
be amazed at what God does through your life!

[image: PraiseDONNA.gif]


-- 
*Do not let yourself be overcome by evil, but overcome (master) evil with
good. Romans 12:21*