Faith demands 3Ds from anyone who wants to live by faith. To believe in God and to live in faith, the 3Ds are denial, devotion, and doing.
When Jesus called men to be His disciples, one of the fundamental qualifications was a "single eye"--the single vision that sees nothing other than the total commitment to achieve that single goal in life, which is to serve God and to spread His Word. In the Bible, when the disciples followed Jesus, they left everything behind and followed Him immediately without second thoughts.
"And another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say goodbye to those at home." But Jesus said to him, 'No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.'" Luke 9: 61-62
Looking back is a distraction, and no one could follow Jesus as a "distracted" disciple. Likewise, to believe in God, you no longer live a life of convenience but a life of denial, devotion, and doing.
So, you must show your denial of attachments to the material world; you must demonstrate your devotion to your faith by reading and meditating His Word every day; and you must indicate your doing to prove that actions are louder than words.
"Allow the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." Luke 9: 59-60
Denial means "dying to self" and allowing God to take complete control of one's life. Denial, which is the willingness to "obey" God, engenders devotion that entails loving God with one's whole heart.
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment." Matthew 22:37
With denial and devotion, one can then put one's commitment into actions, choices, and priorities through one's doing.
"I can do nothing on my own initiative. Just as I do not seek my own will, but the will of the one who sent me." John 5:30
Living by faith: Just follow the 3Ds all your life, and God's Spirit will help you all the way.
Stephen Lau
Living By Faith Is Living In Miracles
No comments:
Post a Comment