Living in Faith
Living in freedom and peace
Faith means Relation
Jesus Christ says:
"And this is eternal life, that they
may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent."
(The Bible: John chap. 17, Verse 3)
God wants all people to recognize that HE is the creator of all things and the origin of all life and that we give HIM the honor and recog-nition that is due to him. Because without God, there would be no us, no earth, or anything we enjoy in life. But knowing God means more than believing in his existence. God wants us to know Him, to understand His good intentions, and to become one with Him. This total union with our Creator is the goal of faith. God is not con-cerned with religious rituals, traditions, or formal membership in a church, but with a personal relationship - like that between a child and its father - based on love and trust. God is our Father from whom everything comes, and He wants us human beings to be His children and to live in total communion with Him; just like Jesus did (see: Who is Jesus Christ?).
God has placed this natural longing for God and for his presence in our lives in the heart of every human being.
"Now by this we know that
we know Him, if we keep
His commandments."
(Die Bible: 1st John chap. 2, Verse 3)
God demonstrates his love for us in many ways; above all by giving us his beloved Son Jesus to save us from sin and death and to give meaning and hope to our lives (see: 10 reasons for God's love). By trusting in God and willingly obeying His commandments, which are for the good of all people, we can express our love and respect for God and experience His blessings. In this way we have fellowship with God and can show that we really know God (see: Who is God?).
Through the relationship with God, our Creator and Father, we humans find our true identity. Anyone who knows God has known the meaning of his life.
Faith means Strength
"Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set
on pilgrimage."
(The Bible: Psalm 84, Verse 5)
Faith means being aware that God is there, that God loves us and that He guides and directs our lives. Because our whole life is in God's hands. God gives us answers to our questions, offers us succor in our needs and also carries us through the suffering that befalls people in this fallen world. This gives confidence and strength for our life as well as hope and comfort in difficult times; even in death.
Faith also means not being on your own, but being able to turn to our almighty and merciful Creator at any time and to count on his help timely. This firm certainty allows us to go through this life without fear or worry. Faith in God is the only sure foundation in our life. Everything else that people place their hopes on in this world (whether money, politics, science, other people or themselves) is uncertain and ephemeral. On the other hand, those who base their lives on God will not be disappointed.
Faith means Trust
"The Lord is near to all
who call upon Him, To all
who call upon Him in truth."
(The Bible: Psalm 145, Verse 18)
Faith means trusting God and His promises, to which He is faithful and faithful at all times. The word translated “faith” in English origi-nally means “trust”. Faith is not imaginary or a feeling. Faith has nothing to do with optimism or "positive thinking" or a special spiritual state of one's own ego. Faith is also not a skill or something that only certain people are capable of. belief is a decision; namely, the decision to trust God. Believing in God is more than just an inner conviction; it is an experienceable reality.
God always works for our good, even when we don't understand or understand some things that are happening in the world or in our lives. Because our minds and judgment are limited. God's ways, on the other hand, are perfect in every respect. This means that God - unlike us humans - never makes mistakes. With this awareness, we can rely on God in every situation in life by entrusting ourselves to His guidance; even if God's decisions for our lives do not correspond to our personal ideas or wishes. God can turn any situation, no matter how hopeless, into a person if he is willing to place his whole life in God's hands with con-fidence. Because there is nothing that is not possible with God.
"Our Father in heaven (...)."
(The Bible: Matthew chap. 6, Verses 5-15)
The easiest way to get in touch with God is through prayer. A prayer is a conversation with God. God promises that anyone who sincerely seeks Him will surely find Him and that God will reveal Himself to anyone who turns to Him and asks about Him with a sincere heart. This can happen in many different ways.
Prayer is an essential part of the life of believers and an expression of their connec-tion to God. In prayer we can not only talk to God, but also let God speak to us. Prayer enables us to be close to God and to draw strength and courage for everyday life. It doesn't depend on certain words that you say; and just as little on the place from which one invokes God. A quiet room where you can give God your full attention without distractions is best. The Lord's Prayer and the various psalms and prayers that have been handed down to us in the Holy Scriptures can serve as an example or template for trusting prayer to God.
Faith means Freedom
Jesus Christ says:
"If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
(The Bible: John chap. 8, Verses 31-32)
God wants to give us a life of freedom through faith in Jesus. True freedom consists in redeeming man from the bondage of sin, which destroys us and separates us from God. In addition, true freedom means freeing yourself from worries (e.g. about food, clothing or wealth), inner compulsions (e.g. pressure to perform), selfish attitudes (such as pride, greed, envy, jealousy or hatred), material or sensual desires ( e.g. after money, food or sex) nor by the standards of this world (e.g. the opinion of other people or the desire to correspond to a certain ideal). The key to this freedom lies in trust in God and his word.
The Bible reveals the truth about God and our lives. If we accept them and are willing to do what Jesus says, then God gives us the strength with which we humans can overcome everything that holds us captive. God's word is healing for body, soul and spirit. Regardless of whether it is fears or worries, depression, trauma and emotional wounds, experiences of violence and abuse or addictions of all kinds: everyone can experience the liberating and life-changing power of God for themselves. Countless people in all parts of the world can confirm this from their own experience. Healing of sickness and physical infirmities is also possible with God; even those that are now considered "incurable" from a medical point of view. A number of miracles happen in the name of Jesus all over the world, whereby people are healed in a supernatural way from suffering and pain that has sometimes lasted for years.
Faith means Hope
God the Lord says:
"Behold, I make all things new."
(The Bible: Revelation Chap. 21, Verse 5)
Every person in the world wishes for peace, health and a long and happy life, without fear for their existence and without worrying about the future. What to this day seems like a distant dream or an illusion to most people in this world, God wants to give us. For it was God's plan from the beginning to one day create a new paradise on earth where there will be no more suffering or sickness; as in the beginning, before man turned away from his Creator (See: God and suffering).
Now, through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, God gives all people the hope of being able to participate in this life in the world to come through the resurrection from the dead (See: The way to redemption).
Faith means to love
Jesus Christ says:
"A new command I give you:
Love one another. As I have loved you,
so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
(The Bible: John chap. 13, Verses 34-35)
God wants us to understand his love for us humans and that we too learn to love him with all our hearts. Since God's nature is love and God created us in his own image, our thoughts and actions should always be determined by love for our fellow human beings. But as a result of turning away from his Creator, man has increasingly lost this natural love. The biblical understanding of love goes far beyond that of the world. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, shows us through his life what true love means.
Jesus showed us a love.....
- which is completely pure and unselfish
- which includes more than external good works
- which is free from pride, greed, jealousy, envy
or other selfish motives
- which doesn't claim anything for oneself,
but enjoys giving and likes to share with others
- which neither seeks its own advantage nor recognition from people, but always only looks
for the best for its fellow human beings,
regardless of personal sympathies or
the social position of a person
- which values the needs of fellow human beings higher than one's own and which does not think first of herself in times of need, but of one's neighbor, in the knowledge that God at all times provides everyone who loves him from the heart with everything that a person needs to live
- which endures self-experienced suffering and injustice without resistance and which does not repay evil with evil, but always clings to good in order to dissuade others from evil
- which always speaks the truth, pointing out the will of God to protect a person from wrong ways that separate him from God and lead to perdition
- which speaks the truth even when people find it uncomfortable or react with hatred and rejection
- which can forgive even the greatest enemy when he sincerely regrets his act
- which is ready to give the own life for others;
if necessary, even to death
In the same way, Jesus gave his life for humanity out of love in order to give eternal life to everyone who believes in him. Through his perfect love, Jesus overcame the evil that has filled this world since the fall of man. At the same time, through his life, Jesus has left us an example that we can follow and through which we can also overcome evil in the world by believing in Him. True love, which the Bible speaks of, is always and exclusively to be understood in connection with God's will, never detached from it or contrary to it. As such, love does not mean tolerating or condoning attitudes or behavior that are inconsistent with God's commandments, even while respecting a person as a human being.
When we are connected to Jesus, we too are able to love God and our fellow human beings in the same way how Jesus showed us.
Faith means: A New Existence
Jesus Christ says:
"unless one is born of water and
the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God."
(The Bible: John chap. 3, Verse 5)
God wants to create a new man with a new character in us, by freeing us from all evil and selfish attitudes and habits that have ruled our life and which are not accor-ding to his will. This perfect transforma-tion, which no human being can accomplish by his own strength and effort, is the work of God through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, which He gives to all people who believe in Jesus. The Holy Spirit renews our thinking and helps us to better understand God's will and act on it. In addition, the Holy Spirit also enables us to conduct ourselves in ways that are pleasing to God and bene-ficial to those around us while resisting what is wrong in God's eyes and harmful to us and others. In short, the Holy Spirit helps us see things as God sees them.
Baptism in the name of Jesus by immersion in water expresses a person's commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and member-ship in His church. It also symbolically affirms the death of the old, sinful man and the resurrection of the born-again man, cleansed of conscience, whose new life as God's child is marked by truth, justice, and unselfish love for his fellow men.
Faith means Peace
Jesus Christ says:
"Peace I leave with you, My peace
I give to you; not as the world gives
do I give to you."
(The Bible: John chap. 14, Verse 27)
Through the connection to God and the reconciled community with our Creator and Father man finds peace; a peace that each of us longs for deep down; a peace that overcomes all fear, hatred and bitterness in this world; yes, a peace that none of the many perishable things on earth can give us humans, as solely God, our father in heaven.
God gives this unique peace to all people through faith in his Son, Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of the world.
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No matter who you are, where you come from and how you have lived your life so far...
no matter whether you are Jewish,
Muslim, Buddhist or atheist...
God's promise applies to you too!
We wish you, dear reader, from the bottom of our heart, that you will recognize the true God and your redeemer Jesus Christ; that you experience God's grace and His indescribable peace in your life and obtain the Eternal Life.
(see: Your step to new life)
Faith means LIFE
“He who has Jesus has life.“
(The Bible: 1st John chap. 5, Verse 12)