Faith and Godliness

I wrote this post yesterday, but due to a huge storm was not able to publish it.  I'll post a Tummy Tempting Tuesday Recipe later this afternoon!  

Some questions that I've been pondering since yesterday:  How godly am I willing to be?  How far will I step outside my "idea" of Christianity so that God can use me in a life changing way?  In our 90 Day Bible Reading, we read the entire story of Abraham's life.  We watched as his faith grew, and we saw how God took an ordinary man and made a nation from Him - a nation that has been and will be pivotal to the entire world's history.  All of this began with one man choosing to step out in faith.  I really don't think that Abraham fully grasped how God would use Him, yet he continued to take step after step in faith trusting that God would provide, guide and fulfill all the things promised to him.

Our family has also been reading George Muller: The Guardian of Bristol's Orphans by Janet and Geoff Benge.  While reading this biography, I was struck by the idea that the majority of Christians (myself included) never place themselves in a position so that we need to place our faith in God and only God.  We are set up in such a society that seems to be able to manage everything and get what we want when we want it.  George Muller refused to keep any money for himself.  If he had extra, he always gave it away.  Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son, trusting fully that God was going to somehow keep the promise He had made of making a great nation through Isaac.  The question I'm asking myself is, "Am I willing to put myself in a place where I have no one to trust but God?"  To be honest, it's a rather scary place to put myself.  I know it's where I should be.  It's even where I want to be, but I've never really been there yet.

You may be asking, "What do godliness and faith have to do with each other?"  I think a lot.  The more we grow in godliness, the stronger our faith will become.  George Muller read his Bible over 300 times in his life.  He was saved at the age of 20 and died at the age of 93.  This means during those 73 years, he read His Bible on an average of over 4 times every year!!!  As I told the Mr., "With that kind of commitment and hunger for God's Word, it's no wonder God answered his prayers!"  The more we practice godliness, the closer we come to our God.  The more we separate ourselves from the world, the more we find ourselves placing our faith in Him more than in ourselves or others or even in things.  The closer we draw to God in our pursuit of being more like Him, the more we give ourselves in complete abandonment to Him. I want to have that kind of faith - that kind of freedom!!!  To be able to sit down with nothing in front of me but have complete confidence that God will give me exactly what I do need. To be able to sacrifice anything and everything knowing that God has better for me.  That is what I want! 

This kind of faith...this kind of life...does not come without cost though.  It is not an easy life.  It is a life full of giving, giving, and giving more when you think you have nothing left to give.  It is a life of separation - separation from any thing that causes us to loose our focus of pursuing godliness. It is a life of forsaking yourself - placing God and others at the front of everything we do.  Whenever I think of a life of godliness, I always think of Luke 9:23:

And he (Jesus) said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

One of the traps we fall into as Christians is becoming godly with our outward appearances but not in our heart.  God doesn't want that kind of godliness. He wants a pure heart with pure motives.  He desires a true heart, a faithful heart, an obedient heart - a heart full of desire to serve Him at any cost.  So, again, I ask myself, "How godly am I willing to be? Am I willing to step outside of my 'idea' of Christianity so that God can use me in a life changing way?"  I pray that I will pursue God with a whole heart and that my faith will grow as a result.  What about you?