Official statement

This idea was not originally mine but because God gave it to another man (and author)by the name of David Timms who freely gave what he recieved, I get to claim it! Amen to that!

I am making an official statement today..."Faith does not give me control of God."

In his book, Living the Lords Prayer, David Timms asks the question, "Does Father really measure our level of love or trust (faith) and hand out rewards accordingly? What sort of love is that?"

He then goes on to strengthen the question with this (give or take a bit of my input)from Hebrews 11! WOW!

How does a man like Samson, fit into that lineup of great faith, alongside Joseph, etc? Samson was a picture of immorality...who kept company with prostitutes. He was disobedient to his parents and "played the game" basically until he lost everything. It was when he was blinded, humiliated, shamed, and degraded, AT THE END OF HIMSELF, that he called out to God. Samson deserves his place in the Hall of Faith, not because he was great in faith but because his surrender declared that God is. That prayer in particular was the only prayer of Samson's recorded.

I have always read that passage and thought,"My...what men of faith, I want to be like them." Now I read it and see, it's not so much about the men as it is about their God. (Even though, without their example, where would I be?) Rather than, "My...what men of faith!", now I say, "My...what a God that responded!"

I am done having faith in my faith to see me through. I want to have faith in the God of faith! Today, I lose faith in myself. I can't do it!

And God gave me a glorious picture of something as well. I was talking about this with my friend Claudia and she said, "By grace, through faith we are saved." Of course! In 1 Corinthians 15:10, Paul said that he laboured more abundantly than they all but not him! It was the grace of God which was with him. Grace was "by" him and the thing is, we can't fit through faith, that passage that leads to the fulfilled answer unless grace is "by" us...unless we are side by side, in agreement with grace! Seems like a strange analogy that we have to add something to us in order to be able to fit, where we alone can't but that's how I see it. Grace somehow makes us fit where we wouldn't have to begin with!