Advent day 18
light the 18th candle

here’s a nice version of O Come all Ye faithful to listen to while reading.

I’ve been meditatiing on the WORDS of Christmas – Joy, Love, Peace – and they are the first three fruits of the Spirit:

Eph 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

There are ornaments all around that have these words on them – but recently, there are new ones popping up that say “I believe”.

There is a current cultural thing to say I believe – but the question I ask is “what do you believe?” or more specifically “In WHAT or WHOM do you believe?”

belief implies faith
from Merriam Webster:

Full Definition of faith
plural faiths play \ˈfāths, sometimes ˈfāthz\
1
a : allegiance to duty or a person : loyalty
b (1) : fidelity to one’s promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2
a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion
b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3: something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs

 

The word Belief is used to define the word faith.

The Bible defines Faith this way:
Heb 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hope is another word that is thrown about at Christmas time, and it goes hand in hand with Faith.

When something is created, it is created with some sort of substance. A Lego Milkshake is made by the substance of legos, the legos are created by the substance of plastic. before the legos, there came the idea, and the hope that it could be done, and the faith that all their experiences and knowledge would be able to see the final product.

Before it was a real lego milkshake, it was a thought in someone’s mind. They believed they could build legos, and they believed they could use those legos to build a milkshake. First, they had the thought, and they HOPED they could do it. The milkshake was not seen, until they went through the steps to build it. Once it was seen, there was no need for faith, belief or hope. They KNEW they could do it, because they had the visible proof before them. But someone first had the thought!

Faith – one of the definitions is “firm belief in something for which there is no proof”

Many people say that those of us with religious faiths have ‘blind faith’.
My faith is not blind.
I cannot explain creation around me without the knowledge that there was a creator.
If a camera had a creator, then how did the eye just happen?
If prosthetics have creators, then how did the foot, ankle, knee, wrist, hand, elbow, hip just happen?

Man cannot create water – how did it get here?
How does the bumble bee fly?
How does the hummingbird fly?
Why are we at just the right distance from the sun to maintain warmth, with the moon exactly the right distance to cause the tides? Just because Star Trek found all sorts of class M planets does not mean there really are. But if there were, how did they happen?
And then, there are those that will not believe in a creator God that created, and is intimately involved in the lives of His children. They believe in Aliens that came and planted us here.

Well, God is alien to us – his ways are not our ways.
He is infinite, I am finite.
He is omniscient, I only know what I know.

And what I know is that there is a creator for this creation.
I have faith that Jesus Christ is His Son, who came, lived, died and rose again on my behalf.
My hope is that someday, I will see him face to face.
And when that day comes, there will be no more need for faith, because we will know all things and know Him completely.

What do you believe?
Whom do you believe?
And does it make your life better for the believing?

The ornament for today is a cross – to signify in Whom I have faith.

Oh Come all ye faithful by Casting Crowns

More Advent Devotions

Advent day 19 – Mary

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links.

• Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
• Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

• Naomi’s Heart Ministries
• Obed’s House Ministries
• The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.