Recently, I wrote a letter to a friend. As I re-read and pondered my message, I realized there was a stunning, fresh faith application point in my letter – for me! It was simple, yet profound. I’ve thought a lot about this ever since. That message boiled down to one word. Want to know what I wrote? (This is Part 3 in a series on faith. Check out Part 1: “Ever Run Out Of Heroes?” and Part 2: Faith Jump)

Here’s What I Wrote

”Our winter has been piercingly cold. But there are reminders of God’s love everywhere – and the promise of spring. Dependable things are coming again. Warmth. Flowers. Fresh new life.”

. . . That’s what I wrote to my friend. (I told you it was simple.)

So, what was so profound to me? What was the one word that stood out and really landed in my heart? It was – “fresh.”

I’d like to develop this idea of fresh as it applies to faith and daily living. But first, let’s define fresh. It’s a little hard to pin down with synonyms, but we all use this word and seem to know what it means. Ideas like:

• new
• recent
• just arrived
• right out of the box/field/oven/think-tank
• healthy
• a re-do
• encouraging
• uplifting
• good for you
• a reboot
• brand-new energy
• second chance
• start over
• hope.

 

You can add your own words and expressions to that list.

Why Is Fresh Desired?

Fresh is something everyone wants. It has become a strong marketing word. It makes something sound really worth having.

Fresh is often used for food or edible products. Fresh can also range from fruits and veggies in the grocery produce section to dairy products in those living-room-size store fridges. Then there’s bread or cinnamon rolls straight out of your oven. (Who wants stale bread.) A fresh salad – oh yes! Lots of people like fresh cold water with healthy chunks of fruit that has marinated in it a while. (Old, warm bottled water in your vehicle glove compartment – yuck!)

Or soft thick linens for your bath area. (Everyone likes fresh linens.) There’s nothing like a freshly washed face or newly shampooed hair. Or a recent shave.

There are fresh, young plants you put out in your yard each spring. Nothing beats the smell of fresh herbs in a spring garden. Here’s a good one – freshly cut grass. I’m sure you agree fresh flowers put a smile on most people’s faces.

Spiritual Fresh Things

Invisible fresh blessings are just as real as these physical examples we’ve talked about. Your inner person longs for fresh and new . . . the “enjoyables” of heart and soul.

Have you received fresh words from God today? Have you paused long enough to hear from Him through His Word? Did you apply that freshness to your life?

The kindness of friendship or a family member pours freshness over a tired, weary heart and can last for days – a hug, smile, text, email, phone call, even snail mail still works!

Simply sitting in nature to look and listen involves your heart and soul – taking in sights and sounds that follow a long winter: new flowering growth poking through the soil, cheerful songs of a variety of birds, breezes gently flipping a curtain, simple – pure peace and quiet, warmth of the sun soaking through layers of your body into your very soul, grass becoming green again, tiny buds on bushes and trees. All fresh signs of spring that touch your invisible inner person.

Fresh Faith

Jesus reminds how critical “fresh faith” is every day. Not yesterday’s stagnant faith. That was fresh for yesterday. Not the stale stuff that got you through past years. That faith was fresh back then – and valuable when you needed it. But fresh faith is new faith for now – a supply of what you need from the source.

• Fresh Living Bread.
• Re-fresh-ing Living Water.
• Adequate provision for a new day for your soul.
• Wisdom for a new set of problems.

 

Fresh faith in a faithful God lifts your heart and cheers your spirit. God promises your losses and trials are a stage on which He can display His fresh love. It’s new every morning. And He intends to share His love, provisions, and wisdom for every challenge. Lam. 3:22-24 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new (fresh) every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.’ ”

Trusting a God who always keeps things new is the only way to do fresh. Scripture talks about our amazing God. He never gets boring. His interactions bring surprising developments and provisions. His tender love leaves you cheered – worshipful. He rarely does something exactly the same twice because He is extraordinarily strategic. God’s unique, creative, and colorful methods are fresh to the human imagination. Nothing satisfies your heart like His Spirit, filling you with the presence of Christ. Blessed is the person who pauses to take in all this freshness by faith! God gives you a fresh, blank page to write the rest of your life onto.

What Does Fresh Faith Mean?

There are components necessary that come together to make fresh faith. Let’s look at some of them.

NEED

Fresh faith means need. Yes, it takes need to seek provision. A need pushes you toward seeking a solution. It gets you doing what humans do – solving problems with creative energy and available resources. God designed you this way. You are created in His image, and He is fresh each day.

SUPPLY

Fresh faith also means supply. It takes energy and work to manage your life. You need a good supply of excellent resources. God always has resources for you. He gives new answers for new seasons and issues. He also gives comfort, provision, peace, wisdom, and companionship. The human design is His genius. It is fresh. You are human. He is your Supplier.

GOD

Fresh faith means a God worth trusting. Imagine trying to trust – with your whole heart as if your life depended on it – in something that doesn’t exist or will not last! That sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But that’s what has become common in current culture. Take a look around. Listen to news reports. Hear what people are focusing on and putting their hope in. It’s a concerning GULP! The truth? You belong to a dependable, never-changing God who never runs out of fresh ideas and options.

GRATEFUL HEART

A grateful heart sets your perspective and rhythm. Thankfulness looks into the past – remembering all God has done. “Seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done.” (Ps. 105:5) Thankfulness looks at each day – today – with eager expectation for God’s involvement in big and small ways. Thankfulness looks into the future with confidence in God, even in troubled times. The entire span of your life is secure and fresh in Jesus. That’s something to be thankful for!

HUMILITY

Humility enables you to cry out for God’s help. Swallow self-sufficiency. With even tiny faith, you have God on your side. Ps. 50:15 says, “. . . call on Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.” God’s powerful humble heart keeps your heart beating. Choose to be humble in responses, and He will lift you up. (Jas. 4:10)

DESIRE

Desire is something you pursue with all your heart. It’s not a feeling. It’s what you decide to do and how you carry it out. How good to desire God and His blessings. How wise to desire to be the person God created and pursue your original design. Desiring God means putting Him first in your heart. When you desire God’s principles and His good ways for your life and others’ lives, you pattern yourself after His fresh approach to life.

Yesterday, Today. Tomorrow

The God of yesterday, today, tomorrow never changes. He’s dependable, faithful, loving, just, and good. Heb. 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” He is powerful and involved in this broken world.

God will help you with your life, if you let Him. He’s leaning your direction, ready to respond in fresh ways to your faith.

Application Thoughts and Questions

God is always fresh. So are His mercies, His love, His help. And He always rewards fresh faith.

1. Do you practice fresh faith?
2. Have you spent time with the components needed for fresh faith to work effectively?
   • Your need.
   • Abundant, available supply.
   • God who loves you deeply.
   • Grateful heart to set your perspective and rhythm.
   • Humility to ask God for help and trust Him.
   • Desire to go after God and His ways with all your heart – no matter what.
3. Even though the world is mixed up and many times scary, are you willing to trust the God who never changes? He is powerful, good, and always fresh.
4. What will you do today to reach for Him and respond to His fresh ways by faith?

 

Why not start living your life with fresh faith?

 

Faith Series

Stay tuned! More to come:

1. Ever Run Out Of Heroes?
2. Faith Jump
3. Fresh Faith For You (today)
4. Grow Up In Faith – 4 Tips (coming)
5. Faith and Family (coming)
6. Who Can You Trust These Days? (coming)
7. True Story Of Faith (coming)

 

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