Let Faith Arise!

Strengthening Your Faith
Bayless Conley

Romans 10:17 is the verse I would like for you to read today. It says,

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

To fully understand this verse, you need to know that if you are saved, faith has already been deposited in your heart. It is part of your spiritual DNA. Romans 12:3 says that, God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Faith is something He has already given.

It is up to you to develop that faith. It is up to you to do something with it. How do you develop it? You develop it first by hearing the Word of God.

The Bible—God's Word—is the food. As you feed upon it, your faith will be strengthened.

You know those body builders, men and women who are constantly pumping weights? Well, if you talk to any serious body builder, one of the first things they will refer to is diet. You have to eat the right kind of diet if you are going to build muscle mass. Usually, their diet is protein-rich.

They faithfully drink their protein shakes and eat their tuna fish sandwiches, which, when they are consumed and digested, become the raw materials that build muscle mass.

As you feed upon and digest God's Word, that truth becomes the raw material that will build faith. It is faith food.

Most people who struggle with their faith are feeding on the wrong things. Faith comes unconsciously when you feed upon God's Word.

So today, if you feel like you are struggling in your faith, then change your diet. Start feeding more on God's Word!

Visit the Answers with Bayless Conley website for more ways to Connect with God

Selfish Christianity
Dr. Charles Stanley

John 6:22-27

Which interests you more—who Jesus is or what He can do for you? I’m afraid that too many of us are more concerned about what He can give us than we are about getting to know who He is.

But this is nothing new—Jesus had this problem when He walked on earth. The crowds often sought Him out for what He could do for them. Even though their needs were quite often legitimate, Christ knew their motives.

There is a fine line between selfishly trying to use the Lord to get what we want and humbly coming to Him with our needs and struggles. Some of the issues we bring to Him are so pressing and urgent in our minds that our desire for Him to take action in the way we want becomes greater than our willingness to submit to His will. At times, what we call “faith” is really a demanding spirit.

We must remember that our needs will come to an end, but Jesus Christ will remain forever. If our prayers have dealt only with presenting our requests to the Lord, we’ve missed a great opportunity to get to know the One with whom we’ll spend eternity. Let’s invest time in pursuing intimacy with Christ. Then we can enjoy the benefits of that relationship forever.

How much of your communion with God is devoted to your needs—even legitimate ones? Are you spending any time getting to know the Lord? Although God delights in our prayers and tells us to pray about everything, He also wants us to come to Him just because we enjoy being with Him.

For more biblical teaching and resources from Dr. Charles Stanley, please visit http://www.intouch.org/.





Chris Tomlin - I Lift My Hands { Let Faith Arise! } 



From Chris' "And If Our God Is For Us" album from late 2010. An anthem praising our Lord. He is our refuge. He is our strength. He is faithful. He is merciful. He is gracious. So how do we respond? We lift our hands and let faith arise! 

Co-written along with Chris by Louie Giglio and Matt Maher. Great job, guys!