Just A Little Something

So I was reading in Galatians in my quiet time this morning and wanted to share a short thought that I had.....

"So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?....Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith....Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because 'the righteous will live by faith'. The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, 'The person who does these things will live by them.'" Galatians 5,8,11-12

We are justified simply by believing what we have heard through scripture. Some Christians, I think, try to make their faith so much more complicated and stressful. We think that by doing good things, we are going to grow closer to God. Scripture teaches us the complete opposite. I can say that it wasn't when I was trying to observe the law that I felt closest to God. It was when I stopped trying to be the "good Christian" and began to simply believe with all my heart what I read in scripture that I really began to connect with the Holy Spirit on a level that I never thought possible. Yes, reading your Bible everyday is important but until you really begin to have faith like it talks about in scripture, everything you read will just be words on a page. Yes, praying is important but until you begin to have the faith that God will answer your prayers, your prayers will seem like one way conversations. Live by faith!

 "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.' He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." Galatians 3:13-14

Christ, the Son of God, came down and became a curse so that I could be redeemed!!!!! Christ died so that I could live by faith!! As Christians, I think we take that for granted all the time. Christ died so that we could live by faith, so let's live by faith! Let's live like we believe in God! Don't just say you love God but show you love God. Why is it that when we love someone here on earth, we will spend every waking moment trying to show them that we love them but when it comes to God, we think that just saying it is enough? I don't want to live like that. I know without a doubt that God loves me. I want Him to be able to say the same thing about me. I want Him to look down from Heaven and say, "That is my daughter and I know that she loves me, not because she says she does but because through her life, she shows me she loves me."

Well that is my quiet time for today. I pray that it encourages you to live by faith. I mean that is the whole reason Christ died on a cross for us! =)