Is your faith intellectual faith or saving faith? Do you live for the Lord, and have a personal relationship with him?

I often talk to myself without ceasing.  I learned a long time ago I was not actually talking to myself but I am having an on going talk or sometimes an ongoing debate with the Lord.  I told Yogie along time ago she had the right to talk to herself.  I told her that sometimes the most intelligent person she talked to was in herself.  I have not actually told her that it would be the Lord she was talking to I am going to let her discover that on her own.  I think when you discover it, it is the Lord letting you know that he is in you, and that he that is in you is greater than he that is in the world...

I watch Dr. Charles Stanley, he is one of my favorite TV Evangelists, I know he has a congregation and is a regular preacher but as I will only ever see him on the TV that is his place in my live.  He is teaching a series of sermons on Faith.  The one I watched, and recorded, this morning was very good as are most of the ones he preaches.  It got me to thinking and talking to the Lord.  I just want to clarify, as some one once said about my blog that is was accusatory and that I came close to calling people names in it,  that when I speak out and say "do you do this or that?" the person I am most likely admonishing is myself.  I treat my blog much like the conversations I have with myself,  they are actually just the written versions of my conversations.  I am not trying to teach anyone my great wisdom, as I have none, I am just talking to myself, and the Lord; I am allowing you a peak into my ramblings along the way.  If you feel that I am calling you a name maybe you need to have a conversation on that with the Lord yourself, we forget that most of what we think that people think about us is in our mind about 95 percent of it is our issues.  Only 5 percent of that we think people think of us is actually other peoples thoughts.  So if my blog is making you uncomfortable please don't read it or please ask the Lord "why is it making me so uncomfortable?" and maybe you need to pray on it with him.  I really don't care to make my thoughts, on any level, the great wisdom it probably isn't but if for even one person it is a path to look to God then I am truly blessed by the Lord.  I digressed, but for a good cause.  Anyway on to the point, is your faith intellectual or Saving?

Do you even know what the difference is?  The preacher said that intellectual faith is something almost all people have, it is the faith that Jesus lived, was the son of God and died and arose.  Most all have heard it and believe it if only in a passing sense.  That is not the faith that the bible talks about that makes us a saved person and someone who will have everlasting life with the Lord.  Saving Faith is different. I am not sure I had ever heard it put quite the way he spoke it and I had to look into myself and asked do I have Saving Faith?  Do I know when I got it?  Is my faith only the intellectual faith that so many on earth are born with? Is my faith only the kind that I can say I have always had it or I have believed in Jesus all my life?  Is that all I have?  I prayed and listened.  Is my faith the kind that changed my life?  Do I, with all my conviction, believe that Jesus suffered and died for me?  Do I know in my heart that I wanted to follow him as my Lord?  Do I follow him? Am I obedient, have I yielded my life to him, and know that he is the Lord of all on this earth, that one day all will bow on one knee and acknowledge him as scripture says?  Is the Lord my only path to heaven and everlasting life? Was the Lord crucified for me?  Is the Lord my only way to receive the holy spirit and to be forgiven by the Lord God?  Does God test me? Does God speak to me through the bible? Does God have a plan for me? I found after much prayer, that, yes, I have saving faith; because I know he is my Lord, I have repented and he has forgiven my sins and he died for me so that I can have everlasting life.  He has given me the gift of the Holy Spirit, the grace of God and everlasting life.   Is Saving faith only given to those in a church on a pew? No.  Are all of those on pews living in Saving faith? No.  Saving faith is a personal relationship with the Lord. Saving faith is having an intimate personal relationship with the Lord.  Does intellectual faith and  good works save you? No.  It is the grace of God given to you when you have Saving faith through the Lord Jesus.... tomorrow.