Words for Life Articles

A REAL LIFE STORY / TESTIMONY TAKEN FROM REALITY NEWS UK SUMMER 2010 EDITION
(REALITY MINISTRIES OUTREACH)

Gary was one of the volunteers in Newtownards and he tells us here the wonderful story of how his family came to Christ through the drama:

Holiness has become a lost concept in today’s Christianity. If we don’t do something about it now, we will lose future generations to the enticements of secularism in the world.

I have over the years listened to many Christians make statements such as, “something spoke to me” “I felt something”, and I have always wondered what they meant by “something”. For many Christians they find it difficult to comprehend the truth of the Holy Spirit living in them, not to mention the Holy Spirit speaking to them.

Relationship is the state or character of being related or interrelated. It is connection between two or more people. Relationship involves more than one person. Relationships include amongst many others:

• The husband and wife relationship
• The child and parent relationship
• The boss / employer relationship
• And most importantly God, since He is involved in our lives and in everything that is godly.

Most of the time I can see it coming. An outlandish thought, followed by a thoughtless plan, followed by a reckless act. I make some attempt (usually I think a valiant one) to resist temptation, but at last I succumb, and end up doing a one-point into the ground. I tell myself that I'm mature enough in my faith that these temptations should not present much of a struggle. So why do the simplest temptations sometimes trip me up?

Many Christians don't realise it, but faith and fear are very similar in nature.   Both faith and fear are an unshakable belief in an unseen future.  Neither is merely emotional, but both are spiritual forces. The only difference between the two is that one believes God will come through for you - The other believes He won't.

“My brothers, what profit is it if a man says he has faith and does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and if one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body, what good is it? Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith from my works” Jas 2:14-18.

I have sometimes wondered about this scripture on faith without works.