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By: Gary Hutchens People talk about faith in a number of different ways. On the surface, most of those references sound good. However, when you observe the lives of many of those same people, it becomes obvious that what they say is not consistent with what the scriptures teach true faith to be. There is a lot of confusion on the subject. In trying to come to a better understanding of what true faith is, we need to understand what true faith is not.
By: Gary Hutchens Probably, the most comprehensive definition of faith given in scripture is found in the Hebrews letter: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1). The phrases “things hoped for” and “things not seen” have confused many people who misunderstand what is meant by those words. They see faith in God as being a blind belief without any objective basis. So, they declare such blind, baseless faith to be the believer’s only substance and evidence of what they hope for. In other words, they see Christian faith as an empty dream!
By: Gary Hutchens On four different occasions Jesus used these words of rebuke: “O you of little faith.” Three times they were directed toward one or more of His apostles. The other time, during the sermon on the mount, He applied them more generally to all those gathered on that occasion. In each case Jesus emphasized that their faith was insufficient. The question we should all contemplate is, “How Much Faith Is Too “Little Faith”?
By: Gary Hutchens Everybody wants to be happy. There may be more emphasis in our society right now than ever before on finding happiness. There’s a lot of focus on having a job you can be happy with. Some people move to different locations in the pursuit of happiness. Wives leave husbands and husbands leave wives because they’re just not happy. Teenagers arecommitting suicide at a staggering rate because they’re depressed, unhappy. Happiness seems to be elusive to many people, but a profound question should be, “Where do you look for happiness?”
By: Gary Hutchens Are you praying? The apostle Paul instructed that we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Following to his instruction to put on “the whole armor of God,” (Eph. 6:11-17), He added, “praying always with all prayer and supplication” (vs. 18). Jesus used an entire parable to emphasize “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Lk. 18:1-8). Obviously, prayer ought to be a central feature of a Christian’s life.
By: Gary Hutchens How should we think about our brothers and sisters in Christ? In the New Testament alone we find the phrase “one another” at least eighty one times. A great many of those references, particularly beginning with the thirteenth chapter of John, have to do with our relationship with our fellow Christians, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
By: Gary Hutchens It has been my practice to devote one bulletin article near the beginning of most every year to look at the year gone by and consider possibilities of the year ahead. This month marks the beginning of my twenty-second year here at Sunny Slope. I continually thank God for blessing and, I believe, guiding me to work with this congregation. I laid to rest my first wife and met my present loving mate right here.
By: Gary Hutchens Just how important is it to be at services when the church meets? The beginning of a new year is an especially good time to consider this question. As Christians, we need to always be examining ourselves to make sure our lives reflect true faithfulness (2 Cor. 13:5). But right now many people are reflecting on their lives more seriously than they normally would do.
By: Gary Hutchens As we come to the end of one year and the beginning of another, it's a good time to do some self examination. Are you where you want to be in life? Whatever your life is like, are you happy with it? If you could have projected ahead ten years ago, would this be what you wanted your life to become? If your life had to remain just as it is now, for the foreseeable future, would you be satisfied?
By: Gary Hutchens During this period of time many people are giving extra attention in their thoughts and actions to God’s having sent His Son to this earth because of our sins. If this is the only time during the year that a person thinks seriously about the Lord, then it would seem to be a pretty empty gesture. Jesus said we are to take up our cross “daily” and follow Him (Lk. 9:23). The Christian walk is to be a daily walk, not an on again, off again experience. It is to be a lifestyle. But if something can stimulate people to a more spiritual mindset, as seems to happen with many during this time of year, perhaps some of them will get serious about following and serving their Lord on a regular basis.
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