Thought for the day: Would we work each day if we did not hope that by doing so we could accomplish something? Each day we act upon things we hope for when we cannot see the end result. This is faith. Faith is a strong belief of truth within our souls that motivates us to do good.
To have faith in Jesus Christ means to have such trust in Him that we obey whatever He commands. As we place our faith in Jesus Christ, becoming His obedient disciples, Heavenly Father will forgive our sins and prepare us to return to Him. The Savior teaches us that if we have faith as the grain of a mustard seed, nothing shall be impossible to you. A mustard seed is very small but, grows into a large tree. Thus the lesson is we should increase our faith, the more faith we have, the stronger faith we have, the better we will be.
How do we increase our faith? We study, we pray, we work on it. We increase our faith by acting on our desire to have faith. But keep in mind "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17) “There must be works with faith. How foolish it would be to ask the Lord to give us knowledge, but how wise to ask the Lord’s help to acquire knowledge, to study constructively, to think clearly, and to retain things that we have learned” ......…"know this, that just as undaunted faith has stopped the mouths of lions, made ineffective fiery flames, opened dry corridors through rivers and seas, protected against deluge and drouth, and brought heavenly manifestations at the instance of prophets, so in each of our lives faith can heal the sick, bring comfort to those who mourn, strengthen resolve against temptation, relieve from the bondage of harmful habits, lend strength to repent and change our lives, and lead to a sure knowledge of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Indomitable faith can help us live the commandments with a willing heart and thereby bring blessings unnumbered. …”-Spencer W Kimball
Penny in the shoe: as you feel the penny in your shoe, think about your everyday activities. What are things you act upon each day that you cannot see the end results of? How does faith move you to action?
Challenge for the day: Act on your desire to have faith or to increase and strengthen your faith. An important way to increase our faith is to hear and study the word of the Lord as well as improving daily in living the commandments.
“In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process.... many of us want to have health and strength without keeping the health laws. We want to have prosperity without paying our tithes. We want to be close to the Lord but don’t want to fast and pray. We want to have rain in due season and to have peace in the land without observing the Sabbath as a holy day and without keeping the other commandments of the Lord.-Spencer W. Kimball
Suggested Scripture Study: (reading made easy just click to view)
Hebrews 11 Exodus 14:19–22 Genesis 6–8 Matthew 8:5–33 Mark 5:25–34 Romans 10:17 Alma 32
Journaling Thought: What relationship do you see between your faith and your actions?
"Finding Faith in Christ" is a short film below that I hope will touch your heart, and put us on our way to finding more faith in Christ......
Love from Dixie
