By Faith: Saved and Served!

Two facets of our faith are recognizing what we can do, and what we can't do.
Both do require faith.

First, what we can't do.  We can't save ourselves.
We are not gods, we will not become gods.
We are creatures, made in the image of our Creator.
We are estranged from the relationship with God for which we were designed.
We are broken, we are messed up, we are what the bible calls "fallen."  We are sinners.
So we need saved from sin, from death, and from ourselves.
In steps Jesus.
The bible tells us that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works (see Ephesians 2:8-9).
We exercise faith that God will do for us what we can't do for ourselves- freely bring us back into relationship with him through Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

Saving Faith.  Before anything else, the bible urges us to come to faith, to accept the gift of salvation by calling on Jesus and simply saying, "I'm yours.  Forgive me.  Thank you."

But our faith doesn't end there.
What can we do "in faith?"
Serving Faith.  God saves us and sends us in serving faith to do the work he has prepared for us to do (Read Ephesians 2:10).
Serving faith says, "Now, with the assurance of my salvation, I will serve.  I will live by faith and walk into the works that God is preparing for me."

Here's the thing I notice in myself an others- we tend to get it backwards.
We live like we're trying to save ourselves.
And we tend not to serve because we lack confidence.

It is only when we really get that we can't save ourselves that we are free to accept the gift of saving faith in Jesus.  And when we really get that we are saved by grace, we have confidence that our service matters and is being used by God.

Saving Faith.  Serving Faith.
We need them both, and both are made available to us through Jesus.

I encourage you to read Hebrews 11:1-12:2 and ask God, "What are you calling me to do by faith?"
If you pray that, and mean that, He will grow your faith.