Faith, Love, Confidence
After a week that seemed to have some daily appointments and other calendar commitments, today has been pretty subdued. Perhaps that is good for me at this point. It does seem that my strength for some reason has taken a little setback. That may be because of my pushing my limits and a couple of falls, or near falls this week. All this shows me how much I am in the rehab process and that gains might be more fragile than I realize.
We are looking forward to our daughter, Stephanie arriving tomorrow. She will bring Carter and McKenzie with her. Our plans are to spend next week in Breckenridge. It will be good to see her at this time of the year. We will be about a week off of father’s day, our anniversary and Stephanie’s birthday being in the same week.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY…“In the presence of our God and Father, we never forget that your faith is active, your love is working hard, and your confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ is enduring.” Thessalonians 1:3 (GW)
This verse arrested my attention this morning during my Bible reading. What a great commendation for a church or any believe in Christ; active faith, hard working love and enduring confidence in the Lord. That is something that all Christians should seek as their goal.
To be at its height of maturity, faith needs to be consistently put into action. Each day there are opportunities to believe God for the impossible and to hold strong to the faith that we profess.
Love is best expressed in actions. The practical demonstration of our love will be tested as it works it way out in our relationships. That work of love is “hard” but true love endures. (1 Cor. 13:8) My friend Pastor Jerry Nelson and his wife Barbara are celebrating 50 years of marriage today. Congratulations to them both. Jerry in his FaceBook post today included this quote, “love holds a marriage together for the first couple of months or maybe even years but it is marriage that holds love together for most of the remaining years.”
Our confidence in the Lord must endure. You can rest assured that your confidence in the Lord will be tested. That is why enduring confidence is of such high value. We can face life’s challenges and we can face the frailness of life with confidence in the Lord. This deep settled confidence is what is reflected in the words of the old hymn, “It is Well With My Soul.” Faith focuses our attention on the One in whom we believe, confidence provides the peace that is needed when that faith is tested.
Can this commendation of the Apostle Paul to the Church at Thessalonica be said of you? It certainly provides a powerful challenge and focus for our lives.