• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

  • CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
  • We hope the site problems here are now solved, however, if you still have any issues, please start a ticket in Contact Us

  • The rule regarding AI content has been updated. The rule now rules as follows:

    Be sure to credit AI when copying and pasting AI sources. Link to the site of the AI search, just like linking to an article.

faith #2

V

viltglance007

Guest
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." -Galatians 2:20

This verse has become more meaningful to me in this season as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. As I read this, it reminds me more and more to die to myself and to live by faith. But what does that actually mean? A story I once heard helped me understand this better.

Several years ago, there was a man caving down in Tennessee by himself. In order to leave the cave, he had to climb down a deep shaft. As he leaned over to throw his rope down the shaft, his head lamp fell over and he was without a secondary light. Since he didn't know how long it would be until others found out he was missing he decided to climb down the rope. As he reached the end of the rope, his feet had still not reached the ground. He was then faced with two choices. He could either let go and trust that his rope was long enough or he could climb back up and wait for help. He decided to climb back up, and as he was on his way toward the top he slipped...and fell to his death. When the investigators came, they discovered that his feet were only three feet from the ground.

Faith isn't faith until you let go.

Just like this man, I can think of many times that I have let fear defeat my faith. Choosing to fear was making the decision to trust the world and myself more, and trust my Savior less. It was in those times that my joy felt stolen. When Paul says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me", it means that all the flesh and fear in me was put to death. It was then that Christ gave me eternal life and the strength to overcome my lack of faith. Paul then tells us that the life we do live is by faith. To be a woman of faith and a faithful woman to the Lord is not easy but as my dad once told me, "Missy, it wouldn't be a virtue if it was easy."

This story of the cave reminds me that when I feel like I have lost control the reality is I never had it in the first place. It is in trials that our faith becomes real and steadfast. I want to embrace my trials because He promises us that His grace is sufficient. Letting go in surrender means hands up-hands open. It's yours Lord - do what you will and be glorified.