Faith's Work Out

As a child is born physically with a mind, arms, and legs, he or she must learn how to use them. 

They do not become practical without trial and error. 

We too must work out change from our born again Spirit to transform our thoughts and habits into practical actions. 

 That’s why Paul said things like this. 

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2 ESV). 

We don't work for our salvation, but we do work it out by continually yielding to God the use of our bodies (hands, feet, eyes, and ears), and transform our thoughts by what God says about us in His word about our present born again state.

M. H. Dennis

New people in old bodies

Jesus talked about a spiritual rebirth. 

Not a physical one, but a spiritual one. 

Paul explained it as meaning “that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun (2 Cor. 5:17 NLT)!” 

 Although a person's spirit is born anew, the mind and the bodies are the same old ones that they’ve had before. 

New thoughts and actions have to be worked out into our behavior by the new Spirit living within us. 

Therefore, Paul commanded things like “work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:12B-13 NASB)." 

In other words, we don’t work for our salvation, 

but we work it out from our born again Spirit to transform both our minds and bodies.

I know Donald Trump ?

If you were to e-mail Donald Trump every day, could you say that you actually knew him? 

Let suppose that one day you actually received a reply. 

What if you were to do a word study of everything that Donald Trump had written you on that one e-mail,then would you know him? 

Next, you memorized every word written in that e-mail, and quoted it throughout the day. 

Would that make you Donald Trump's friend?

What if you were to watch every public appearance that Donald Trump ever made, and see everything that he has been in? 

Would you know Donald Trump? 

The truth is you would know a lot about Donald Trump, and even the way he thinks; however, if you were to really meet him, you’d still be strangers.

The way that most of us know Donald Trump is how most of us know God. 

We may shoot up prayers each and every day, take God's Bible and do word studies, and even memorize it word for word. 

However, we’d still be strangers with God. 

Jesus said in John 6:45 and John 10:3, we are taught by God, and have an amazing ability to identify and follow Him.

The truth is God is speaking to us throughout the day - every day. 

The problem is with our spam filters like on our computers. 

We are filtering out God because we are either set in our ways (Luke 8:12), shallow (Luke 8:13), distracted (Luke 8:14), or all of the above. 

However, if continually listen to God's voice deep within, and cling to it (Luke 8:15). 

We will progressively know our God who speaks, listens, and acts in and through us.

M. H. Dennis

God's imperfect pictures

The house that my wife grew up in has been hit by a flooding river several times. During the floods, most of her family pictures have been destroyed. 

All those memories imprinted on those pictures have been washed away. 

If someone were to call and say that a picture has been recovered, it would be of great value to her. 

It wouldn't matter how damaged and dirty that it has become because its value comes from the images upon them. 

Because people are made in God's image (Genesis 1:26), we are like those pictures to God. 

It just eats at Him to think about all those images of Him laying damaged and dirty scattered around the world. 

God loves and values you to the extent that He paid the ransomed for you, which was His Son. 

Please call out to God, and return to Him what's His.