Practical Faith

I was thinking about being a visionary but not an idealist. The visionary life is the life I want.

Faith is above all things practical in nature. It fits into every area of my life. I don't have to make it fit. If I slip into hyper-spirituality or become to theologically high minded than what I am saying can get very non-applicable to real life.

Cynicism seems practical to people given the world we live in. It however is of the wrong spirit and is devoid of faith. Cynicism can leave God totally out of the picture. If faith is the only thing that can please God how He must hate cynical thinking. But, Idealism is no better. In a way it is the good side of the tree of good and evil. Any fruit from that tree will poison a persons thinking and lead to the eventual self consciousness of feeling 'naked' before God.

It is such a privilege to be around spiritually objective people and to hear spiritually object teaching. I grounds me. I don't want to live in a mania of how I think things should be nor do I want the my mind to be darkened by fears that things will never be a certain way either. I want to live in faith!

Faith dares to dream things larger than what an individual can accomplish. David dreams about building a temple. Paul dreams about going to Rome. David didn't get to build the temple... but his son did. Paul did get to go to Rome.

None of us have to passively fit in God's plan. We are placed in it By Him and not us. In that sense it is passive. But beyond that we can be very alive and move in faith in the midst of what he is doing also.

I don't mean an endless motion but a proactive believing.

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams" Acts 2:17 (quoting Joel 2:28)

"I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one." 1 Jn 2:13-14

It is almost like the Apostle is writing to certain categories of people because these are the folks who are disciples. These are the people that want truth and reality and not a more comfortable life. He is aware that not everyone is going to get what he is saying. For some it is going to take awhile for it to sink in and for God to make it alive.

If you have been in a few battles you want what is practical. After seeing a few people drop off to the wayside you realize that what you have better be real.

The practical thing is to receive God's love. God's love is what makes us visionaries. Seeing Jesus is what transforms us and causes us to consider and want the faith life. The practical thing is to have the word abiding in us. Having the thought life of an overcomer is a thought life filled with faith. Living in Christ's victory equips us to go from Jerusalem to Judaea and Samaria. Then to the uttermost parts of the world here we come!

Young men need the dreams of old men and old men need the strength of young men. If God gives us time the young men grow up to be the old men and so it goes. Whoever we are we need people who will give us Christ so that we can be lifted out of self but grounded in truth.