Great Commission Churches

February 2004

Dear Sisters,

Most of us are very aware of the release this week of the Mel Gibson film, "The Passion of the Christ." I received a copy of a John Piper book written to complement the movie, titled appropriately, "The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die." It asks the question: "What did God achieve for sinners like us in sending his Son to die?"

Reading Mardean Martindale's article this month reminded me of Reason No. 22: He died to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). Mardean asks us what God is "allowing" in our lives to build our faith in Him. Isn't faith simply seeing God, and enjoying His presence above all else? With the death of Jesus in my place, I can have confidence that all God brings my way, no matter how testing, is to result in deeper companionship and trust between me and my Lord. Ephesians 2:13 promises that "you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." As you read Mardean's account of her own journey of faith, I pray your faith in our risen Savior, and His desire for you, will grow and increase also!

In His love,
Sandy

What is God allowing in your life TODAY to build your faith?

by Mardean Martindale, Valleyview Community Church, Columbia, Missouri

"So that your faith may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, EVEN YOU!" Proverbs 22:19

"And I am sure that God, who began a good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again." Philippians 1:6.

God is so very interested in each of us individually that He teaches, trains, and tests us every day of our lives-every season-every place-every circumstance! Only in this life do we need faith, for when we get to Glory, we shall see Him as He is! Because faith is what pleases God, He daily uses "life" to develop it!

As we grow in faith in our own lives, God often gives us other relationships in which we learn faith. In fact, it's an interesting study to see God building faith in His children. In each of the characters in the Bible, we see God at work-and sometimes it is a long journey. In fact, the more God wants to use us, the more He tests us to develop our God-confidence, so that the trials of life don't wipe us out. God doesn't always answer our prayers immediately to build our faith. With Abraham, God gave him a promise, but didn't immediately fulfill it! Yet the Bible tells us that in that situation, Abraham grew strong in faith. We so easily want instant answers, not realizing that God sees a bigger picture.

Many of us are mothers, and certainly God uses that entrustment as a BIG faith journey! Yet God never gives us an assignment or entrustment without His promise to be with us! We are never alone no matter how we feel. We get so distracted by the problems, that we forget that God is truly there and at work. How is God going to teach us the fruits of the Spirit, if we can do His work on our own? Maybe we've learned to depend on God for our own needs, but can we trust Him to work in our husband? Then, what about our children? We don't see the big picture-we only see the "right now" and it can scare us. Yet God doesn't have any grandchildren-only children, and He is at work in their lives as well. Because we're so busy as mothers and wives, we easily forget that as God works in each of us, He's also longing for our companionship and trust. We're each "moving to the next step!"

Years ago, when our own children were teenagers, one of their classmates at school professed to be saved. Drugs and alcohol had controlled him, and his parents found him impossible to control and asked if he might live with us. Even though we had taken a tough stand on "no drugs," he occasionally found a way to get high. One day, high on speed, he sat in a rocker in our living room weeping. He said, "You know, my parents never said ‘no' to me, so I don't know how to say ‘no' to myself." Of course, we told him that he now had a Heavenly Father who could help him say no to himself. As Christian parents, you are giving your children such a rich heritage. You are teaching them of our Heavenly Father who is teaching us, as well as them, how to say "no" to our flesh.

All of us make daily choices. Are we making choices of faith? Sometimes, it's good to tell our children of the choices we make. Our children find it easier to learn from ones who are also learning from our Father. None of us have arrived! Some children-especially strong willed ones-seem to want to learn everything for themselves instead of from instruction. We can learn so much more if we can learn from each other's mistakes, as well as from instruction. As parents, we are crying to God that our children won't make wrong choices that affect their whole lives. Even when we diligently teach children the basics of making wise choices, some are tempted to "test the rules." Sometimes, our children think we are more concerned about our reputation as parents instead of being concerned for their good, and that is a test we have to pass.

We realize, too, that we have an Adversary who hates strong families because they are a testimony of God's work and grace. Even then, we have the promise that "God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose" (Rom. 8:28). It takes faith to see how God can take even "bad" things to work together for good for His purposes. Watching and waiting while He does it is part of our journey of faith. God sees the whole picture, while we can only see such a small part. How wise God is in working with us as children, and we can learn so much from Him daily. So when things seem too difficult, remember to ask yourself, "How is He building my faith today?"