I’ve heard several messages from people I respect who have noted that the opposite of faith is fear. One preacher, Kris Vallotton, says it this way: “Fear is faith in a negative outcome.” Let me encourage you to focus on growing in relationship with God in such a way that you’re able to overcome the fear of doing something you believe He wants you to do because you’ve come to know Him so well you trust He will answer your prayer and support your action.    

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

James 2:17  

“Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.”    

In the last several blogs, based on the book, From Here …By Faith by Lenny Ouradnik, we asked, “What if, hearing Him in relationship, you said something when you didn’t know what to say, prayed in a different way from the way you’ve prayed before, did what He asked you to do in the moment, and it turned out to be amazing?”  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Remember, Jesus said we would do greater works then Him and Paul said those works are prepared in advance for you to do, as we’ve discussed in the last several blogs.

So, about those works. I guess they won’t get done if you and I don’t do them. The trick is, to learn how and what to do in step with, in relationship with the Father. And that can only happen by doing things that help you grow in your relationship with Him.  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

What would happen if you invited God into making a list?

What do you think He would ask you to do? Would He ask you to do things youn might be able to do on your own?

Imagine what could happen if He asked you to do something… additional? Or, different from what you already know or do? What if, hearing Him in relationship, you said something when you didn’t know what to say, prayed in a different way from the way you’ve prayed before, did what He asked you to do in the moment, and it turned out to be amazing, it turned out to be a greater work?  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

The basis of the last several weeks and several future blogs is this:

The outcome of growth in relationship with God is growth in faith in God!

The foundational scripture for this emphasis began with Jesus saying that we would do greater works then He did. We continued by looking at Paul’s writing in Ephesians 2. In verse 10 Paul said the good works are created in advance of us to do!

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

We are on this part of the journey together. I don’t really know more than you. But I know Someone who knows more than both of us. And because I believe, I have relationship with Him. Because I have relationship with Him, I can ask Him questions.

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!

Imagine what could happen if He asked you to do something… additional? Or, different from what you already know or do? What if, hearing Him in relationship, you said something when you didn’t know what to say, prayed in a different way from the way you’ve prayed before, did what He asked you to do in the moment, and it turned out to be amazing, it turned out to be a greater work?  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!     

What would happen if you invited God into making your own list of good works? What would be on the list? I know when I’m challenged with this kind of task, I often write down things that I can do. For instance, I can give money. I can say I’ll pray for someone or someone’s ministry. If I’m honest, everything I write down will be something I can do without requiring real faith.   

But. What would happen if you, in relationship with the risen Savior, discovered the good works He has created in advance for you to do?   

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!     

He is part of us, and we are part of Him. We belong.  In the church, in His Kingdom, in His heart, in His Body. We belong with Him and to Him even as He belongs to us. We are in Christ (Galatians 2:20).  

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10    

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!     

We have peace because a long time ago on a start filled night with angels singing and cattle lowing a baby was born.

And God said, Let there be peace on earth and good will toward men as He presented to us all the Prince of Peace.

Whether you’re alone or with family we wish you a Merry Christmas and Peace in the coming new year.

God holds faith in high value in His kingdom. 

Nothing happens in His Kingdom without faith. Nothing. So, whether you have ever pursued growing in faith or you have never ever even thought about it, pursuing faith is an exercise of value here on earth, even as it will be when you enter His Kingdom. 

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!     

Growing in Faith

When you exercise the faith God provides for you, you enter His Kingdom through His salvation. His salvation carries with it a plan for you. God, through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, has a plan for you! And by extension, you have a purpose in His Kingdom, such that He has prepared good works in advance for you to do.  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!     

SAVED BY FAITH FOR A PURPOSE

Paul continues his prayer by expressing God’s mercy toward you. Through His power and His mercy, you were made alive together with Christ to such a degree that you and I are raised up and seated with Him in the heavenly places! All this because you were saved by grace through faith (by faith such that you know it is not by your works that you are saved). Your salvation and your faith are a gift from God!  

We have works to do and we’re going to need faith to do them!     

When I wrote my first book, We Can Get There From Here, published in 2013, I had a sense that I would write two more books. This book was written after a lot of procrastination and resistance, Followed by submission and then obedience. As I was completing the first book, “We Can Get There From Here (2013) I thought the Lord wanted me to write a book about faith. I was not excited, to say the least.  

Allow me to introduce the blog series from the second book in the From Here Books series, “From here …By Faith (Ouradnik, 2024)!

The purpose of this book is to help the reader discover that God has good works prepared for him or her to do.  These works will require faith.  That’s what makes them ‘greater works.’

Come bust my website:

www.Lennyo.org or www.fromherebooks.com

Next week we’ll begin to post blogs from the second book in there From Here Books series.  This book, “From Here …By Faith (Ouradnik, 2024) will help you learn more about how to grow in faith.