Without Faith there is nothing

If Jesus isn’t who he says he is, then he must be crazy.

Seriously, think about it. The guy says he is GOD. His mother says she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit. He spoke of things in the future, healed people of diseases for which there was no cure, and brought dead people back to life. Even if you don’t believe all of that, the mere fact that he says the things that he does about “his father” makes him either 1- RIGHT, or 2- CRAZY.

How can a sane person, a ‘good prophet’ make such claims? Why would God use an ordinary man who claims he is god’s son to do things on His behalf? He probably wouldn’t. So if Jesus isn’t God’s son, then Jesus did nothing on God’s behalf.

Back to the beginning… if Jesus isn’t who he says he is, then he must be crazy.

I wholeheartedly believe that the ENTIRE Bible (and ONLY the Bible) is God-breathed word. It says in John 1 verse 1 that “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” The Bible is true, accurate, and from God. And Jesus is exactly who He says He is. He is God’s son, born of a virgin, worker of miracles, crucified for my sins, and resurrected. Conqueror of death, sin, and the grave. Savior of mankind.

This belief is the foundation of my life. I was raised in a Christian home, and as a teenager I turned my life fully over to Christ. Since that time I have sought His will in my life in deed and in action.

If you ask Michael to tell of his faith and beliefs, he will tell you similar. Together we follow Christ and want His will for our lives and our family.

Take just a minute and read this section which may be familiar to you… may not:

James 2

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

18But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

20You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless[d]? 21Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"[e] and he was called God's friend. 24You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.



Wow. Quite a bit to take in there. We are not saved by works or deeds, but they are an expression of our faith. Here’s another verse about that:

Romans 9 30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."

That stumbling stone, as it is written in Romans, is still there today. It’s the idea that works can get a person into the Kingdom. Into Heaven. Into the family of Christ. Or, for those that have a ‘similar’ faith to true Christianity but don’t think they’re completely sold on the Heaven and Hell idea, to a “good destiny” or karma, or… fill in the blanks. It’s clear in the Bible that that’s not the way. It’s NOT by works. It’s by FAITH, and a natural expression of faith is a person’s deeds.

It is absolutely, without question, because of our faith that we have the children that we have. It is the foundation of our lives, our home, our marriage, our childrearing, our passions, our works, our deeds. It is the backbone of our lives. If we had no faith that there is a God of the Universe who loves us and cares for us and orchestrates things by His hands… If we had no faith that our Father will take care of us and will lead and guide us… If we had no faith that our pursuit of Him would lead to where He planned for us to be… then it would all be for nothing.

If you’re walking into the journey of adoption and have no faith to stand on before you walk it out, I want to suggest without hesitation that you take some time to chat with the God of the Universe, the Savior of our world, before doing that work. Because just as faith without works shows no action and cannot be true faith, neither is work without faith going to prove beneficial.

God answers the prayers in the foxholes- but waiting to be in trouble before crying out to Him doesn’t allow Him to help guide your path and keep from trouble. Surrender to Him, and HE will make your paths straight and your ways clear. It’s not always in the way that *we* intend it to be, but it is always the best way.



In case you can’t watch the video below, here are the lyrics to the song…

Everyone needs compassion,
Love that's never failing;
Let mercy fall on me.
Everyone needs forgiveness,
The kindness of a Saviour;
The Hope of nations.

Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

So take me as You find me,
All my fears and failures,
Fill my life again.
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in,
Now I surrender.

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

Shine your light and let the whole world see,
We're singing for the glory of the risen King...Jesus (x2)

My Saviour, He can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to save,
He is Mighty to save.
Forever, Author of salvation,
He rose and conquered the grave,
Jesus conquered the grave.

MIGHTY TO SAVE LYRICS - HILLSONG AUSTRALIA

And one more, simply because I love this song :)

Left my fear by the side of the road
Hear You speak
Won't let go
Fall to my knees as I lift my hands to pray
Got every reason to be here again
Father's love that draws me in
And all my eyes wanna see is a glimpse of You
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is you Lord
One more day and it's not the same
Your spirit calls my heart to sing
Drawn to the voice of my Saviour once again
Where would my soul be without Your Son
Gave His life to save the earth
Rest in the thought that You're watching over me
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord
You hold the universe
You hold everyone on earth
You hold the universe
You hold
You hold
All I need is You
All I need is You Lord
Is You Lord

ALL I NEED IS YOU LYRICS - HILLSONG UNITED