Keep the faith that keeps you

Google introduced 'Ngram Viewer' which is a seductively simple tool online that generates a chart tracking the popularity of a word or phrase in books and writings during a selected period in history. Ngram is a computational linguistics and probability study to look for contiguous sequence of 'n' items from a given sequence of text or speech useful to build linguistic models. It will search for a particular word like 'faith' or a phrase like 'faith in God'. A search of Ngram database shows the word 'faith' winning over 'doubt' in American English during the 1800s. But 'doubt' ran past 'faith' in the early 1900s and later the two terms tracked rather closely. During the 1980s, however, 'faith' won over 'doubt' ! But 'Faith in God' shows a poor graph in the 2000s!! There are still studies to be completed before we can know the reason for variations.

No one can live a single day without exercising some kind of faith. When we flip a light switch we place our faith in several things and people. We trust the switch manufacturer, the cables, the light bulb, the power company and on an on. When you get in your car you place faith in countless factors that it will start and run. Whe we go out or drive, we place our faith in the traffic signals and other drivers around that they would obey the traffic rules. When you mail a letter you have faith that the postal system will get it to the right address. When you go to the doctor or the pharmacy you have faith that they will do the appropriate things and give you the right drugs. Every time you walk into a building you are expressing faith in the architect and the workmen. Faith is a common denominator.

Paul asked the young man Timothy to guard that which is given as a 'trust' referring to the faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ and the core doctrines (1 Tim. 6:20) . When Paul says that he himself has kept the faith, he means that he has carefully guarded the truth about Jesus Christ that God had entrusted to him (2 Tim. 1:12, 14). Paul had experienced that the faith that he is keeping also keeps him in the 'race' he is running and it never failed him. And as he faces death, he knows that 'the faith' will see him through his last painful adventure, and prepare him to meet his Master.

Perhaps your circumstances seem pretty dismal today. Maybe you’re considering giving up or dropping out. From his dungeon, the aged apostle calls out not to quit but keep going! You can finish well! "Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith." 1 Corinthians 16:13. Paul had kept the faith, and that faith also kept him. "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim. 4:7).

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Blessings

Mathew Philip

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