Don’t be a Walking Civil War – Walk by Faith!

We are constantly inundated with conflicting opinions and points of view. How can Catholics sort through all these to walk by faith? Jeff draws on the Gospels, Psalms, and Hebrews chapter 11 to help us quiet the inner conflicts and focus on the one eternal truth of God. 

Snippet from the Show

“There are two parts to faith: intellectual assent and a personal entrusting of oneself wholly to God.”


SHOWNOTES

James 1:6-7 – “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways, will receive anything from the Lord.”

Solving the conflict

  1. Take on the yoke of Jesus
    • Matthew 11:29 – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
    • Luke 22:42 – “Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
    • Matthew 6:10 – “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”
    • Psalm 119:30 – “I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set thy ordinances before me.”
    • Psalm 32:8 – “I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
    • Psalm 25:12 – “Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.”
    • Michah 6:8 – “He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
  2. Walk by faith
    • CCC 150 – “Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth, Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature.”
    • Pope Benedict XVI on the word “Amen” – “to take my stand on Someone else”
    • Dr. Edward Sri – “In my mind, I believe that 2+2=4, I can make that mental assent, but when I took my wife and looked at her in the eyes and said ‘I believe in you’ I wasn’t simply saying ‘I believe you exist’ like 2+2=4, but I’m saying ‘I entrust myself to you.”

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:1-7 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old received divine approval. By faith we understand that the world was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was made out of things which do not appear. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he received approval as righteous, God bearing witness by accepting his gifts; he died, but through his faith he is still speaking. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was attested as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please him. For whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, took heed and constructed an ark for the saving of his household; by this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness which comes by faith. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was to go.”

Hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

Hebrews 11:17 “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son”

Hebrews 11:23 – “By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.”

Hebrews 11:29-35 – “By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection.”

Hebrews 11:39 – “And all these, though well attested by their faith, did not receive what was promised”

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