Applied Faith: With Russ Faillaci: Recent Episodes
www.russfaillaci.com
Pastor Russ Faillaci is Sr. Pastor at the Christian Church of Broomfield in Broomfield, Colorado. Faith is more than belief. Faith is action driven by belief. Without action the life giving principles of faith cannot be experienced. Too often our faith can be stagnant and lifeless because we possess a head knowledge of what we believe, but no confidence or instruction in the application of our faith. Many aspects of faith are counter-intuitive and we need knowledge on how to retrain our minds to walk according to a new set of instructions. When our minds are transformed and new instincts are formed, the power of Christ is experienced in the most important aspect of our lives - the trenches of life.
In Christ, forgetting is a gift that enables us to experience healing, growth, and purpose.
Self control is the ability to control ourselves according to our new nature in Christ.
The peace Jesus made possible for the world is the same peace we carry to the world that is desperately searching for peace.
The world is pulling for our devotion. Jesus promised that an undivided heart in devotion to Him would experience life in ways that completely satisfy.
Jesus saw people as individuals who needed saving not condemnation. His mercy and love were the agents of change once He sought them out.
Mercy is what God gives daily to each of us. When we realize how much we need His mercy each day, it fuels our obedience in giving mercy to others.
When we understand the compassion that brought Jesus to the cross, we then understand the compassion that He desires to show through us.
The empty tomb of Jesus is the center of much debate. Fortunately history and other evidence makes it impossible to deny the validity of a the tomb of Jesus being empty on that Sunday morning. The question for each of us remains, how do we explain the “why” behind this event.
God’s perspective of suffering is very different from the world’s. Suffering brings life and identity for those in Christ.
Actions in our life that we carry the shame of can now be a testimony of Jesus’s saving and redeeming love. When we are honest about what God rescued us from, the power of the Gospel is demonstrated.
Urgency is a mindset prompted by the understanding that our lives are a gift from God with a designed purpose to walk in now. We are not promised tomorrow. How we live today matters.
Relationship with God through Jesus is not a simple truth, but a truth so great it takes the Holy Spirit to reveal its magnitude.
Forgiveness is the root of God's Kingdom and a prerequisite of being a child of God. Our mindset to forgive others comes from recognizing the overwhelming mercy and forgiveness God has extended to us.
While man-made wisdom has no real ability for making true change in your life, receiving the Gospel of Jesus Christ — God's Word — has the power to make you into something completely new.
Everything Jesus said, taught, and demonstrated was a reflection of the incredible love of God. The ultimate demonstration of that love was Jesus's willingness to die upon the cross for the sins of the world. If we miss the fact that God's word and his commands are from a place of perfect love and desire for us to experience true life, we can easily turn our faith into empty religious practice.
We will see God face to face for all eternity. A privilege we do not have now, but will experience upon our last breath here or when He returns.
How do you view God’s commands? Burdensome or life giving? Truth or suggestion? How you answer determines the value you place upon them.
If you’re desiring to become closer with God, He gives us clear instructions on how our relationship can grow with Him.
Knowledge is power. The revealed divine knowledge of Christ empowers our walk of faith. Head knowledge only goes so far. We need to seek fuller knowledge of our Savior which is found in His living word and revealed through the Holy Spirit.
The knowledge of Jesus Christ is a life changer. That knowledge is endless and a catalyst for change as His love is revealed more and more and more.
Christ in you produces change. That change is an anchor for your faith and a demonstration of Christ’s power to others.
The Gospel is our only hope: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was crucified for the forgiveness of sins. Why? Because God so loved the world and desires none to perish. We can’t add to this, we can only accept His offer to believe in Him for the forgiveness of our sins and the promise of becoming new.
Developing a pattern of transformation that encourages those who will eventually believe, is a product of our obedience as Disciples.
How's your confidence in your Savior? If you are confident that His grace means that He is always with you, then that should effect your walk as a disciple.
What does it mean to be a disciple? How we define it directly impacts how we live out our faith.
We are mastered by what we serve. Jesus called us into discipleship, which carries a defined mindset. If we don’t assess our disciple mindset against Christ’s definition we then run the risk of living a divided and unfruitful life for Christ.
Our cares can become burdens that ultimately affect the focus of our faith. As followers of Christ, we need to learn to cast our cares upon Him so we can serve our Father with an undivided heart.
Feeling spiritually fatigued? If so, just know that what's at stake for your life is worth fighting for!
What we live for defines how we live. The truth that comes with our faith in Christ, is that we now have the Holy Spirit within us which means we can live for something that cannot be taken or destroyed: Jesus Christ. To help us live for Christ, we possess the ability, through the Spirit of God, to share in His divine nature which empowers us to accomplish His will. Not even death can destroy the life found in this purpose.
Hope is drawn from something that is not present in our lives. Something of value we desire. To create hope we can tend to fixate on a goal, idea, person, etc...We say to ourselves, "When I can accomplish this I will be okay." These hopeful thoughts motivate us and provide a sense of purpose. It's why we need hope. Hope is powerful. The problem is that the focus of hope can either bring true life or emptiness. Today we look at the truth of how true hope is found in a name, Jesus.