The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…
"The Flow of Life, the Current of Faith"
Our experience of the risen life of the Lord Jesus Christ flows upon the current of our faith in His grace and enabling.
"Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:15).
"This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life" (John 6:40).
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).
"I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting" (I Timothy 1:16).
To the degree we sincerely trust Him and rightly believe the Scriptures about Him, the living Christ walks in us and works in us. "He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). Faith serves as the strait of the Spirit, as it were. Our Lord's promised "rivers of living water" - His life - move within us as they find open course made navigable by our confidence in Him. Of course, our spiritual enemies cast numerous rocks, logs, mudslides, and impediments of every kind into the waters, seeking to block the current of the Spirit's flow through us. We counter the hindrance by expecting such challenge, and by determining to see the impediments as fresh opportunities to "continue in the faith" (Acts 14:22).
The moment we trust our Lord about any matter whatsoever, a "good fight of faith" begins wherein our enemies seek to block the channel of God's working by tempting us to unbelief (I Timothy 6:12). "He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (Matthew 13:58). Again, we anticipate such challenge, determining to engage in the good fight of faith whereby we recognize our role in the continuance of the current's flow within and through us. "I will trust in Thee" declared the Psalmist (Psalm 56:3). We concur with him, being confident of the Holy Spirit's enabling to maintain the flow of faith, and thus, the flow of Christ's life, within us (Psalm 56:3).
Anyone who suggests the life of faith involves ease, or escape from responsibility, has never actually tried to live by faith. Trusting God in a fallen world that operates in complete contradiction to His truth involves the greatest challenge any human heart can face. Thankfully, the Life that flows through us as we trust God is the same life that initiates, motivates, and empowers our trust - "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith" (Hebrews 12:2). Christ is indeed the issue. His Spirit leads us to the concourse of faith, and then escorts us throughout the journey as we look to Him. The challenge is great, but the Christ we discover in the challenge provides the flow of His overcoming life that moves upon the current of our faith.
"But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name."
(John 20:21)
"This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
(I John 5:4)
"The just shall live by faith."
(Romans 1:17)
Weekly Memory Verse
"He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."
(John 7:38)
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