Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

We are saved by grace! There is absolutely nothing we can remotely do to earn this free salvation gift. Yet, we are not passive recipients, but active receivers of grace through faith. Faith is like the unwrapping of a present or like entering a new home or like tasting a fine wine. Through faith we access grace and receive salvation.

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power. 1 Corinthians 2:4-5

So often we think faith is based solely upon some kind of intellectual logic or reasoned understanding of the will, but here Paul says the surest foundation for faith is an experience of the Spirit’s power. Why? Well, a word of prophecy or a healing makes the reality of God clearer (and harder to argue against) than just preaching, don’t you think? How do you view the importance of experience within faith?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:17

There are certain beliefs that make your faith specifically Christian. The resurrection of Jesus is one such belief, for without it, Paul says, we are not saved! That makes it essential I would say!

What we believe is important for three reasons: (1) beliefs reveal the God in whom we have faith; (2) they help us establish whether we can trust this God; and (3) they affect how we live.

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Put another way, faith is about letting God’s promised future invade our present in order to inspire confidence and courage in the midst of suffering. We cannot always physically see evidence of God’s kingdom within the world around us, but this is where faith comes; faith enables us to imagine the unseen.

Why not try thinking regularly about God’s promised future this week to see if it makes a difference?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 1:14

Paul says that at his conversion experience, faith was abundantly poured out on him alongside grace and love! While faith is our response to grace, at the same time our faith is itself a product of grace! Without grace, our faith would not exist.

Now notice the phrase, abundantly. Our God gives without measure! Why not ask for more faith today?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given…, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit… 1 Corinthians 12:7-9

One of the gifts the Holy Spirit gives to equip the Church is that of faith. Now, all of us have faith, yet have you noticed that some people seem to have, well, more of it??

I know a guy who simply radiates faith. Hearing him pray encourages me to believe God for more – it’s actually like faith is being poured into me… Who do you know like this?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I think our chat about faith can remain abstract and ungrounded. What does faith really look like? The author of Hebrews was perhaps thinking the same thing when he wrote this verse. Faith is demonstrated in the way we live our lives. Therefore, imitate the faith of those living godly lives. Consider this week whose faith you could you imitate.

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

Loving money (and what it can buy) makes us selfish; it causes us to focus on our own material comfort and gain rather than following Jesus’ way and looking after the needs of those in our community.

To assess your own attitude towards money think about your current monetary situation and answer these two questions: (1) how easy is it for you to give money away? and (2) how much do you give away?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Galatians 5:6

If we make faith about observing a set of “do’s and don’ts” then we trap ourselves in religious activity and close our hearts off from receiving and sharing God’s love and grace. Faith is not about how well we perform, how holy we are or how many times we read our bibles or pray each week. The only thing that counts, Pauls says, is faith expressing itself through love.

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. James 2:15-17

I heard someone say recently that we are saved by grace for good works. We can’t earn our salvation and we are to never act like we can, but knowing God’s love means that we are compelled to live our faith out in action.

Christian faith is not about a free ticket to heaven but about bringing heaven to earth now, in this life. This is God's dream for us – is it your dream too?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 1 Corinthians 13:2

Why would you want a strong faith if you weren’t motivated by love? It could be to look holy, to gain people’s respect, to please your parents, to be influential in your Church, to ease your guilty conscience… I’m sure you can relate to some of these examples. Being of strong faith needs to be motivated by love, otherwise faith becomes a selfish attitude rather than a genuinely unselfish one.

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 2 Thessalonians 1:3

Our faith grows in many ways, from increasing intimacy with God to learning to trust him more to believing more of his revelation to us. However, I can’t help but wonder whether there’s a direct link between our faith growing and our love for others increasing. As I love others well I become more aware and confident of what God’s love is like and this increases my faith. Do you find this?

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3

Reading New Testament authors like Paul, Peter and James can be frustrating at times. They all talk about suffering, persecution or, in James’ more subtle phrasing, “trials,” but none of them explain how to cope with it. Instead they use phrases like perseverance, endure, stand firm and run the race… But this is the advice! In trials just concentrate on walking with Jesus – one foot in front of the other.

Written by Steve Hall [a] and posted in Faith

Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12:1-2

I doubt you know this, but the Greek word for ‘race’ is agōn, from which we get words like agony and agonise! The life set before us will contain struggle and suffering, yet we are to live it like we are running a race. As you run focus upon Jesus. Not only did Jesus demonstrate endurance of faith to us, he is also the source of our faith and our resurrection hope.