I Build My Faith In Jesus Mp3 Download
Arline Wallaert
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
I recently started dating this LDS girl. She is very open-minded to different ways of believing within her faith, so I thought it could work out between us. Unfortunately, last time we talked she told me that dating someone who believes in Jesus is super important to her and that that is a deal breaker. Now, I am nonreligious and agnostic, but the Jesus story just doesn't make sense to me. I appreciate the core of the Christian message, to love those around you, to serve and take care of those in need, etc. I just have issues with the historical Jesus. I have read a few secular history books about Jesus and as far as I can tell there is no concrete evidence to make me believe he walked on water or was resurrected. I know the bible says this, but plenty of people claim things or think they see things that didn't really happen. Why should I believe a book written many years after Jesus' death when the events described are supernatural and go against everything I know about and experience about how the world works? I have talked to people about this and they tell me that they believe there is some strong evidence for the accounts of the bible to be accurate, but ultimately you can only know through faith.
From what I understand, faith is believing in something without sufficient empirical evidence. This sounds very illogical to me. The way I see it, I can't just choose to believe I live in a mansion or am president of the united states, and I can't just choose to believe Jesus is going to judge me when I die. Now my girlfriend told me that if I start reading the Book of Mormon, coming to church with her, and praying for faith that over time I will start to have faith in Jesus. I don't doubt her, but this sounds absolutely ridiculous to me. Likewise, I am sure if I read ancient Hindu texts daily, start praying to Vishnu, and visit temples regularly that over a long period of time, I will start to believe some of it.
I really want this relationship to work, but I refuse to tell my girlfriend that I have faith in the divinity or miracles of Jesus when I don't. The ways that she has told me that she came to have faith in Jesus sound unreliable to me and not a great way to discover what is actually true about the world. Maybe I'm too much of an empiricist, maybe my heart is just closed to believing, or maybe my values are just completely incompatible with a life of faith. Please, if yall have any experience or insights into gaining faith in Jesus I would love to hear them. If I could believe in Jesus I would. I see no downside and connecting on a religious level with my girlfriend would be a huge upside.
They say the flames that were meant to burn Lucia simply danced away from her and she would not catch fire. As her executioners stood there, trying to silence the brave, young girl who would not deny her faith in Jesus, she spoke plainly of how the Lord had healed her mother, how Jesus has called us to be the light of the world, and how the end of the persecution was near. The soldiers did not know what to do. She kept talking and the flames of their bonfire would not touch her.
She died, but her words did not. News of her death and what she had lived for traveled. And then her dying words were proven true. Within a decade, Roman Emperor Constantine allowed Christians to freely profess Christ. What this brave, young girl who would not deny her faith in Jesus had said in the fire that day, was true.
Lucia had a reputation for being a generous woman of integrity, giving her dowry away to those in need. And when she had refused to marry the man to whom she was betrothed, he turned her in to the Roman authorities who had her murdered for her faith in Jesus.
Peter Lombard asks in his Sentences whether Christ had faith and hope as he had charity (love).1 He comes to the conclusion that Christ did not possess faith and hope.2 [But, as we] imitate Christ, the man of faith . . . I think we must say of Christ that he possessed these three theological virtues.
As one who had faith, he also necessarily had hope. He lived constantly with the hope of better things to come. His life was a life of humiliation, but he hoped for his exaltation (John 17). Unchangeable promises were made to Christ. As the faithful last Adam, Christ not only believed that he would one day be glorified in the presence of his Father at his right hand but also necessarily hoped for that day to arrive. If he did not hope for the promises made to him, then he surely was not truly human.
Let me share a few thoughts from what I have learned in the past fifty years about how to allow your faith in Jesus Christ to guide your life. My friends on the stage will add their comments as we go along.
Think of the power of the Book of Mormon. No book teaches the Atonement of Jesus Christ as strongly and as clearly as does the Book of Mormon. Regularly immersing ourselves in the Book of Mormon brings a remarkable settling of our faith in Jesus Christ.
Your faith in Jesus Christ will bring you assurance in the choices you are making, happiness in good times and in challenges, and peace in knowing your eternal destiny. Remember, there is a power that can cause things to happen that need to happen, and that power comes from your faith in Jesus Christ.
A few years ago I was working in full-time ministry among college students in Europe. It was my job to train believing students how to communicate their faith to their classmates. They would then hopefully bring their friends to the point of making a decision to begin a personal relationship with Jesus.
The way you live makes a difference. The people in your life must see that your time, money and energy are driven by a different agenda. You can sprinkle your conversation with references to things you are involved in, like church events. Or you can reference how you view things because of your faith in Jesus.
How can you help them take a step of faith to express their curiosity? I am a big believer in the idea that you reap what you sow. You need to be deeply and consistently curious about the people in your life. So ask open-ended questions.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, NRSV)
11.] Prayers of Jesus demonstrate faith and trust. (Did Jesus fake all is prayers?)
Luke 22:44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
12.] Jesus who marvelled at peer faith!
Luk 7:9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
Jesus attained divinity by trusting his God even to the point of death. No man can be tested beyond death and Jesus was tested to the point of death and emerged victorious. Disciples like Stephen whom they stoned showed like faith!
However my faith has come under tremendous attack due to my exposure to atheistic arguments that attack my faith. For the most part I have been able to resist many of the arguments atheists have presented to me with the help of great philosophers like yourself, who defend the faith with reason. However recently I have been exposed to the argument that Jesus was a failed prophet i.e. His Matthew 24:34 prophecy. C.S. Lewis said of this passage "It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible." after going over the typical Christian responses I have to agree with him.
I am trying really hard to hang on to my faith, but this passage has provided the strongest objection to my personal faith yet. I have not been able to convince myself that Jesus was referring to a future generation as some theologians have tried to explain, because the language and the context of the verse make it clear that He was talking about the contemporary generation. This was the interpretation I favored but it doesn't look like it is shared by the vast majority of scholars.
Paul again continues his argument in Galatians. What is interesting here is how much the reading changes and how much more fluid it becomes if we translate the Greek exactly since it definitely says through the faith OF Jesus in several places. The King James actually has it more accurately than even the New King James.
Again, compare how we are justified. Are we justified by hearing with faith (an action on our part), or by hearing of faith (hearing of the faith of Jesus Christ and accepting his work of marvelous faith on our behalf)?
In every case, it is the faith of Jesus which is set up as the model and as the agent or instrument of our salvation, so that all credit and honor goes to Jesus for his exceedingly great faith, now given to us as a gift, who are enabled to receive and believe.
Could it be that it fits better the whole of scripture without contradiction to have the perspective that he exercises his faith upon the dead sinner when he quickens them according to his own choice? Then we really know it is all him we are resting on.
I am not sure that we disagree. I think what you are saying is exactly my point. It isn't our faith that saves us, but His faith working in and through us that brings salvation: "and that not of yourselves, lest anyone should boast."
I would appreciate if anyone would like to comment on this thesis:
1. Faith is the logical response to historical evidence .
2. The faith of Christ is faith in the Father, that he will act on His immutable promises according to their perfect love.
3. The basis of this historical love discourse between the Father and the Son is described to us mortals in Psalms, Song of Songs, Job and many more places.