Take The Challenge – Faith

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believe, deborah chandler ministries, faith, fruits, fruits of the Spirit, take the challenge, Trust

Hey there!

I missed you guys last week and I’m glad to be back here on the blog! You all are greatly loved.

Well, we have two more weeks to go before we’re done with our challenge.  How have you been during? I pray that you’ve been allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your life. As I’ve mentioned before, the choice is ours whether to yield to leading of the Holy Spirit or to continue in our own efforts.  Fruits are produced by the vine but the branch has to give way for the fruit to come forth.  So let’s continue to yield to the Spirit of God within us.

Okay, let’s talk about this week challenge.  This week we are going to challenge ourselves in the fruit of Faith.   The first thing that catches my eye is that faith is a fruit, which means faith is not something that we earn but it’s what’s produced in us by the Holy Spirit.  All of the fruits of the Spirit represent the life of Christ in us.  So faith is Christ is us.  Romans 1:17 says, “For there in is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”  In other words we live by Christ in us.  Not by our efforts, but by totally relying on His life in us.  Just hanging on the vine and allowing the fruit of faith to come forth.

Now, I know some of you might be thinking, “I thought I had to get faith.” No, as long as you think you have to get faith you’ll never use the faith that’s been given to you.  Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  Notice the word cometh, that means it’s given not earned.  When Paul was writing this he was talking about salvation.  Paul was saying that when we hear the gospel faith enters in and all we have to do is use the faith that’s been given.  It’s not faith that we need it’s an understanding or revelation of what faith can do.   Jesus told His disciples in Mark 11:22, “…Have faith in God” or have the faith of God; i.e. the faith which God gives.  The faith that God gives is Jesus Christ.  It’s with His faith that we can speak to mountains and command them to be cast into the sea (Mk 11:23).  And let’s not forget what Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”  We live by the faith of Christ, His faith in us.

Therefore, all you need to do is use His faith, allow His faith to come forth in you.  Here’s a little something I like to do to help me when it comes to faith.  Whenever I’m reading a scripture where it says faith I say Christ.  This helps me to remember that faith is Christ in me and not something I have to obtain outside of Him.

Throughout this week let’s ask the Holy Spirit to give us a deeper revelation of what faith or Christ can do and let’s rest in Him to do it in our lives.  Faith is easy because faith is Christ in us.

Take The Challenge – Goodness

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deborah chandler ministries, fruits, fruits of the Spirit, Goodness, help, salt and light, take the challenge

Congratulations! We are halfway through our fruit challenge.  I hope this challenge is helping you to focus more on the work of the Holy Spirit in you and less on your own works.  Last week we talked about gentleness.  We learned that the kind of gentleness the Holy Spirit produces in us takes into consideration another’s inabilities and weaknesses.  How’d you do?  In places where you would have been harsh did you allow the fruit of gentleness to flow through?  I do hope so.

This week our challenge is in the fruit of Goodness.  The kind of goodness that Paul is talking about in Galatians 5:22 is not only goodness in character but also beneficial in its effect.   This kind of goodness is seen in Jesus in Acts  10:38 which says, “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”  This is the kind of goodness that the Holy Spirit produces in us.   It’s the ability to benefit and make a difference in someone’s life.   The scripture says that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power.”  Jesus used that anointing and power to make a difference in the world.  Well, we too have been anointed with the same Holy Ghost and power to do the same things that Jesus did.  We are anointed to go about in this world and do good.  We are anointed to be salt and light in the world.  All we have to do is locate a need.  As we go about our day and daily routine we are confronted with opportunities to do good all we have to do is do it.  Remember, you are anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power, in other words you were re-created to do good.

Therefore, throughout this week let’s yield to the Holy Spirit as we go about our day and use the power that’s given to us to do good.  II Corinthians 9:8 says, And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”  God will always supply us with what we need to do good and no act of love is too small.