The Coffee Shop: Faith
How is your faith being formed or reshaped in this season of your life?
faith
a high degree of trust
confidence in something or someone
belief and trust in and loyalty to God.
INVITATION.
Begin with silence
Quiet settling in
A deep breath, slowly let it out
Meditation
Because of His kindness,
you have been saved through trusting Christ.
And even trusting is not of yourselves;
it too is a gift from God. --Ephesians 2:8 [TLB]
READING.
Faith
How is your faith in God being formed or reshaped within this season of your life?
Maybe your faith in a loving God is just beginning?
Maybe this season is uncertain and dim at times?
Maybe you’ve been attentive to its ongoing slow, sure and steady shaping.
Maybe it is more fullness and energized movements?
Take a moment to gaze out a window or at a flickering candle and listen in to your life with God. Name a few words or phrases that come to mind.
Our faith in God, our life with God is at times like a flowering plant in its stages of growth and blooming. A small seed first planted in soil. With watering and waiting, a sprout and stem begin to form, followed by a bud, and then a flowering that opens in a slow rhythm eventually revealing its intricate and delicate parts, and sometimes a sweet, smelling aroma. A faith like a flowering bloom that encourages and blesses those around us. How does this kind of faith form or take shape?
I’d like to offer a faith invitation holding us in gift, response, and rhythm–a life of faith forming in and with God.
Take your time reflecting on each of the invitations:
Gift of faith comes from God, our Creator.
Ephesians 2:8
“For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God” [AMP]
Response of faith comes from the power of God in us, by the Holy Spirit as we hear the gospel and read the Scriptures.
1 Corinthians 2: 5
“I was unsure of how to go about this, and felt totally inadequate—I was scared to death, if you want the truth of it—and so nothing I said could have impressed you or anyone else. But the Message came through anyway. God’s Spirit and God’s power did it, which made it clear that your life of faith is a response to God’s power, not to some fancy mental or emotional footwork by me or anyone else.” [MSG]
Rhythm(s) of faith call us to movement, swaying, or what we often hear are these verbs(and more):
Live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7, Gal 2:20)
Walk by faith (Romans 4:12)
Remain, stand firm in faith (Act 14:22) (1 Co. 16:13, 1 Peter 5:9)
Increase, grow in faith (Luke 17:5) (2 Th 1:3, Jude 20)
Do everything by faith (Romans 14:22-23)
Pray in faith (James 1:5-6)
Yes, there are many actions of faith we are instructed to do as believers and yet they are not to be burdensome. For it is a gift and from the power of God in us, we become children of faith. Resting and moving. Playing and working. Being and becoming.
Rhythm of faith
Discovery.
Is there a rhythm of faith standing out to you? Stay with one of the rhythms noted above and listen in to hear from God. What might He want you to notice in your life with God today?
Take some time to read one of the Scripture passages (two or three times)
Journal a word or phrase standing out to you from the Scripture
Ask God about their meaning? Write down any questions you desire to ask or find yourself wrestling with?
Wonder with an image of the rhythm? (you may look through a magazine, your photos, or moving your body to the rhythm)
How might God be calling you to respond to what you are noticing about the rhythm?
Offer a prayer.
“Lord, What are your invitations today? Help me trust, and have confidence in the gift of faith You have given me.” amen.
