Why do you need virtues for heaven’s entrance? Isn’t it just accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior good enough? Sure, belief in Christ is pivotal to salvation, but there is more. In this podcast, we explore the meaning of exhibiting virtues that are important and meaningful in our lives.

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What are the building blocks of our faith? Belief in Christ as Lord and Savior, rejecting sin, and leading a holy life. Easy right? Not so much!

The building blocks for leading a good and moral life require a belief in life, sacrificial death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior. Yes, but how do we live a virtuous life? How do we follow Jesus’ example? How do we pick up our crosses of this world and rely on His help to carry them? Each one of the questions can only be answered with thought and contemplation.

As an aside, I would like to share with you what I have encountered in my email inbox lately. I am asked at least three times or more a week if I will interview various speakers and authors. One of the speakers caught my eye recently, and I went to listen to his podcast. The topic was the falsehood of faith. The speaker said, “If you are sensitive to faith or you have faith, you may want to skip this podcast in the series.” Truthfully I should have because what I heard left me unsettled. The podcaster went on to explain how the brain works and how people are brainwashed into believing in God, even a false god. (with a little g). That’s it?

Oh my gosh. I wanted to tell the speaker he was really stretching his explanation to explain away faith as a psychosomatic occurrence. When people of faith feel love, an infilling of the Holy Spirit, and are witnesses to miracles, is this a falsehood brought about by what is, in essence, brainwashing?

There is no room in this atheist’s mind for miracles, for the idea that our world did not come out of nothing, that we should have respect for those who gave up their lives as martyrs not just in the days of Christ but currently all over the world where Christians and those of other faiths are persecuted.

Why is there a fear of faith? Why is there a denial of faith? Because having faith requires a change. Having faith requires a decision. Having faith requires self-denial. The building blocks of the Christian life are not only choosing to follow Christ and turn our back on sin but also living a life that is an example to others. I heard a quote, and the attributes of this quote are given to different people; if you want to see the history of this quote, there is a website here. (Quote Investigator.) Yet, I want to share it with you because I love the lessons it gives.

“Watch your thoughts because thoughts turn into words, watch your words because words turn to actions, watch your actions because actions turn into habits, watch your habits because habits develop your character, and watch your character because your character will determine where you spend eternity.”

If we need further instruction, we can go to Psalm 141:1-4 (read on air).

We can look at four virtues, also known as natural or moral virtues. (Also known as the Cardinal Virtues)

These virtues are achieved through practice and lead to a good life.

1. 
   
2. Prudence – think before you speak
   
3. Justice – is giving someone their due, whether it is forgiveness, etc. (God deserves our worship, people deserve mercy from us)
   
4. Courage (or fortitude) is the ability to disagree when needed with love and to speak out for one’s faith.
   
5. Temperance: Self-control – whether that is holding your tongue, cutting back on eating, or other bad habits that are often formed.
   

We can’t live a good life and an immoral life at the same time. We often hear of someone living what scripture would term an immoral life and say, “But they are a good person. How do we determine that? The question arises – yes, but who are you to judge? We are not the judge, but God is a just judge. Earthly good, or the definition of someone who is an upstanding citizen, is not the same as moral good. When you reject God’s teaching and the Word of God, then you can not be morally good.

Friends, we sometimes elevate ourselves and those we love on the supernatural level. However, only God can do that. We must be in union with God. The best way other than to accept the Lord as our Savior is to practice these good habits.

Ephesians 4:1-6 (read on air).

We can’t do this alone, nor should we try. Another talk I recently heard challenged us to ask the Lord for the impossible. In fact, one thing the speaker said was that we often don’t ask the Lord for enough. It has caused me to really think about this notion, and I will do a follow-up on the topic because, seriously, we often fall short of what we can ask the God of the Universe. God is Almighty, He is Lord of All, He is the Mighty One, the King of Peace, He and only He is worthy of our praise. We can ask the Almighty to grant us the grace to live a life with prudence, with justice, with courage and with temperance. We can ask the Lord to give us more faith. We can pray without ceasing in our daily lives when we take out the trash, walk the dog, or do anything we do in our lives. Let us all give God the honor and the glory He deserves. Amen and Amen! May God be raised today and always.

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