BY KLAUS DÖRING
MANY Christians are intimidated by the idea of sharing their faith. Jesus never intended for the Great Commission to be an impossible burden. God meant for us to be witnesses of Jesus Christ through the natural outcome of living for him.
Our homes are personal, sacred spaces that serve as a retreat, a haven, and a safe place when the world around feels chaotic.
When you think back to your childhood, what do you remember most about coming home?
The nostalgia we feel when we think of our childhood home may come from a charming kitchen table serving many family dinner nights, or a special doorway with little pencil lines named and dated to mark growth of the children living there, or a favorite window with a pretty view. While we may not remember every family night in every meal cooked, or every study session, we do remember how being home made us feel.
Creating a home of our own is an endeavor that takes time as we grow, have new experiences, create new memories, and make important choices throughout our lives. No matter what stage of life you’re currently in, there is always a way to make your space feel a little more like home.
A well-placed piece of religious art or home decor can invoke those same feelings of nostalgia, love, and peace that we remember from our childhood home. It can remind us of the love we get from the gospel of Jesus Christ and the peace that comes with that knowledge. An inspiring quote or meaningful work of art can turn a home into a true haven here on earth, even amidst a chaotic world.
Our wide-ranging collection of religious fine art includes options for every style and every budget. Familiar pieces and images can give your home a nostalgic feel and invoke deep peace. But, if you’re interested in something newer, our fresh designs and new perspectives will give your home a modern feel while still paying tribute to your faith.
How to share your faith in god with others? We humans make evangelism complicated. We think we must complete a 10-week course in apologetics before getting started. God designed an easy evangelism program. He made it simple for us.
Trust or reliance? What is faith for you? To say it clearly: without faith we are really nothing. Faith is belief; believe in us, beliefs in our works, talents and personalities.
We also should believe in our parents or better, in the whole family including the black sheep, who can be found everywhere.
We should also believe in our friends, even sometimes it seems to become a very difficult task. A friend? A real friend? An expatriate friend?
Without faith, we will be reaching the rock bottom. Please don’t say, it’s a likely story. The German poet Johann Christian Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1815) mentioned in his drama “Maria Stuart”: “Even the word might be dead, but faith keeps it alive.”
Yes, I can live with this.
Faith and hope belong together. In his book “Through the Valley of the Kwai”, Scottish officer Ernest Gordon wrote of his years as a prisoner of World War II. The 6’2” man suffered from malaria, diphtheria, typhoid, beriberi and jungle ulcers. Many circumstances quickly plunged his weight to less than 100 pounds.
Lying in the dirt of the death house, he waited to die. But every day, a fellow prisoner came to wash his wounds and to encourage him to eat parts of his own rations.
As this fellow prisoner nursed Ernest back to health, he talked with the agnostic Scotsman of his own strong faith in God and showed him that, even in the midst of suffering there is hope – and faith!
Faith is indeed tantamount to convincing and conviction. Richard Wagner, a German classical composer and poet, found the following lyric: “Blessed are those people, who know how to live their life in humility and faith!”
Well, let’s even continue believing in our government. Faithful hope is loyal, reliable, exact and honorable.
Faith looks beyond the transient life with hope for all eternity. The hope we read in the scripture is not a wishy-washy optimism. First and second Chapter of Thessalonians, for example, give encouragement to all Christians, who have been undergoing persecution for their faith. And, Corinthians 13:2 says: “If I have faith it can move mountains!”
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